Polish youth retrace WWII roots in India under government exchange initiative
New Delhi: Twenty young Polish nationals, descendants of Polish children who were sheltered in India during World War II, visited Balachadi in Jamnagar and Valivade near Kolhapur under the Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange Programme this February. The initiative was facilitated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Poland last year.
The delegation of young people the grandchildren of Polish refugees who, during the 1940s, found refuge in India having been displaced from their places by the war. Some 1,000 Polish children had been received by Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of the then princely state of Nawanagar, now part of Gujarat, in 1942. As Nazi and Soviet troops occupied Poland and the Polish government-in-exile in London was searching for a safe haven for its children, the Maharaja had welcomed them to his doors by setting up a camp at Balachadi.
Planned with the assistance of one of the earliest Polish child refugees, Wieslaw Stypula, the group toured the Balachadi memorial. Two of his grandchildren, Arkadiusz Michałowski (28) and Kasia Michalowska (25), were part of the group that toured. The memorial statue shows a figure representing Mother India, holding an Indian child in her arms and hugging a Polish child, showing India's part in providing shelter during the war.
During the visit, delegates recalled stories shared by their grandparents about their time in India. The Polish children had engaged in scouting, music, and cultural exchanges, and celebrated festivals such as Christmas with local adaptations. The Maharaja, popularly known as "Bapu" to the children, used to send them presents on occasions.
Barbara Gutowska (22), a granddaughter of Roman Gutowski, another survivor of the Balachadi camp, said the visit was an emotional experience and that she had heard tales all her life of India and the Maharaja's protection.
The delegation also toured the Polish camp compound in Valivade, Kolhapur, that had accommodated more Polish refugees. Bartosz Jezierski (17), whose grandfather Andrzej Jezierski was one of those who had been hosted there, visited the memorial museum.
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7 held for running fake call centre in South Kolkata
Kolkata (PTI): Seven people were arrested from the Parnashree area in the southern part of the city for allegedly running a fake call centre, a police officer said on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house on Netaji Subhas Road on Friday night and found the fake call centre operating from the ground floor, he said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had set up a bogus company using forged documents and posed as employees of an antivirus firm to call citizens in the US, the officer said.
"The callers would gain the trust of victims and then use remote access to take control of their phones or other digital devices. The accused allegedly siphoned off large sums of money, running into millions of dollars, from victims' accounts," he said.
Five laptops, two WiFi routers, six mobile phones and four headsets were seized from the accused, he said, adding that the seven are being questioned to ascertain the full extent of the racket and to identify others involved.
