Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja (1895–1966) was a native of the princely state of Nawanagar (now Jamnagar) The 20th Maharaja, retired officer of the British Indian Army and cricketer. He is famous for sheltering 1,000 Polish children and their mothers in 1942 during World War II. He died in 1966 at the age of 70.
Wiki/Biography
Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja Bahadur was born on Wednesday, September 18, 1895, in the princely state of Katiawarnagar, British India. Dodar (now Jamnagar, Gujarat, India), whose original name was Digvijaysinhji Juwansinhji) (aged 70 years; died). After completing his early education at Rajkumar College in Rajkot, he attended a boarding school called Malvern College in Worcestershire, England. Later, he received higher education at University College London.
family
Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja belongs to the Jadeja Rajput family of Gujarat.
Parents and siblings
His father Juwansinhji Jiwansinhji was the Maharaja of Sarodar. He has four brothers and one sister. His elder brother Dajirajsinhji Jadeja was born in 1891 and died in 1917. His elder brother Pratapsinhji Jadeja is a cricketer. His younger brother Himmatsinhji Jadeja was a Major General in the British Indian Army.
Himmatsinhji Jadeja, brother of Digvijaysinhji Jadeja
His younger brother Duleepsinhji Jadeja is a cricketer. He died in 1959. His sister’s name is Vijay Kunwarba.
Photos of Duleepsinhji Jadeja
wife and children
His wife Gulab Kunverba was the Maharaja of Navnagar. The couple married on March 7, 1935. She died in 1994.
Photos of Gulab Kunvirba
His son Shatrusalyasinhji Digvijaysinhji Jadeja became the 21st Jam Saheb Maharaja of Nawanagar (now Jamnagar) in 1966.
Shatrusalyasinhji Digvijaysinhji Jadeja with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
He had three daughters, Harshad Kumari Sharma (late), Mukund Kunverba and Himanshu Kumari.
Harshad Kumari, daughter of Digvijay
other relatives
Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja was the son of Colonel Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, the famous cricketer and the 19th Maharaja of Navnagar. nephew, who adopted Digvijaysinhji as his heir.
Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II in formal dress
caste
Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja was a Yaduvanshi Rajput.
Profession
British Indian Army
After completing his formal education, Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja joined the British Indian Army in 1919 as a Second Lieutenant. In 1920 he was posted to the 125th Napier Rifles, now the 5th Battalion, Rajputana Rifles. Sent to Egypt as part of the British Indian Army’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force. In 1921, he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1922, he was deployed to Waziristan (now Pakistan) as a member of the Waziristan Field Force. He served there until 1924. He became a captain in 1929 and left the British Indian Army in 1931. Despite his retirement, Digvi Jaisinji received an honorary promotion and by 1947 he was a Lieutenant General.
Digvijaysinhji in military uniform
Maharaja of Nava Nagar
Before his death, the ruler of Navnagar, Ranjit Singhji Vibhaji II, nominated Digvijasingh Ranjit Singhji Jadeja as the heir to the throne. After the death of Ranjit Singh Ji on April 2, 1933, he became the Maharaja of Navnagar. Digvi Jasinghi continued the economic, educational and welfare policies of his predecessor. In 1937 he became Chancellor of the Crown established in 1920 by King George V. He served as Chancellor of the Crown until 1943. From 1939 until his death, Digvi Jaisinji served as Chairman of the Board of Management of Rajkumar College in Rajkot. When World War II began in 1939, he served not only as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet and Defense Council, but also as a member of the Pacific War Council. After India gained freedom from British rule in 1947, Digvi Jaisinji became one of the first rulers of a princely state to sign the Instrument of Accession and become part of India. In the same year, the Indian government granted him the administrative title of Rajpramukh. In 1949, Nawanagar was renamed Jamnagar after it merged with parts of Drol, Dehrafa, Thane and Jaliyadevani and became part of the state of Saurashtra. He continued to serve as the Rajpramukh of Jamnagar until the government abolished the title in 1956.
Digvi Jaisinghi as Maharaja of Nawanagar
Asylum for Polish Refugees
In 1939, Germany attacked and invaded Poland. At the beginning of the war, the Soviet Union supported Germany and provided military assistance. Many Polish citizens were captured by the Russians and sent to the Soviet Union for forced labor. In 1942, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union allowed captured Poles to escape by ship to different countries. The Poles were denied entry to several European countries and Iran before arriving at the port of Mumbai. When the ship reached Bombay, the Governor of Bombay Presidency did not allow the refugees to enter. Despite Digvijaysinhji’s repeated requests, the British authorities did not allow the ship to dock in Mumbai. Later, he ordered the ship to dock at Rohi Port in Navnagar (now Jamnagar). He ordered the construction of refugee camps at Balachadi (near Jamnagar), Waliwad (near Kolhapur) and Panchgani, which housed a large number of people until the end of World War II. More than a thousand children and their mothers. He also established a camp at Chela in Punjab with the help of the Maharaja of Patiala. To build a refugee camp in Balachadi, Digvijaysinhji raised Rs 6 lakh. The camp he built had a sports field, a church, laundry rooms and a stage for Polish cultural programs.
Polish children in Digvijaysinhji refugee camp, India
When the British government protested his decision, Digvi Jaisinji told authorities the responsibility for the refugees lay with him. He reportedly provided education, food, and other types of amenities to the Poles in the camp. He also told Poles that they were free to practice their traditions. Addressing the Polish refugees in Nawanagar, Digvijesinj said:
Don’t think of yourself as an orphan. Now you are a native of Nava Nagar and I am Bapu, the father of the people of Nava Nagar and therefore your father too. “
Digvijaysinhji and Polish children in a refugee camp
[AftertheendofWorldWarIIin1945theserefugeesreturnedtoPolandSomesourcesclaimthatDigvijaysinhjineversoughtcompensationfromanygovernmentforcaringforrefugees[1945年第二次世界大战结束后，这些难民返回波兰。一些消息来源称，Digvijaysinhji从未因照顾难民而向任何政府要求赔偿。
cricket
Digvijaysinhji was interested in sports, especially cricket. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm bowler. He was a member of the West Indies cricket team that played in a first-class match against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1933-34. West Indies lost the Test match to MCC by 4 wickets. In this match, Digvijaysinhji scored six runs. In 1937, he became the fourth president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and served as president until 1938. He also played cricket for Sussex County in England. It was reported that he scored 3,000 points in one game.
League of Nations
After the end of World War I, in order to maintain world peace, the League of Nations was established on January 10, 1920. Digvijaysinhji represented India in the first league in 1920.
United Nations
During the Korean War, Digvi Jasinghi served as deputy captain of the Indian contingent to the United Nations. He was also appointed President of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. After the Korean War, he served as chairman of the United Nations Negotiating Committee for the Rehabilitation of Korea.
military decorations
british medal
- In 1924, for his services in Waziristan, the British government awarded him the General of the Order of India and the Waziristan Buckle.
- In 1935, he received the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal from the British government.
- In 1937, he was awarded the Coronation Medal of King George VI.
- In 1939, the British government awarded him the Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE).
- [AftertheendofWorldWarIIin1945theBritishgovernmentawardedhimtheStarMedal1939-1945theAfricanStarMedalthePacificStarMedaltheIndianServiceMedalandtheWarMedal1939-1945[1945年第二次世界大战结束后，英国政府授予他1939-1945年星章、非洲星章、太平洋星章、印度服役勋章和1939-1945年战争勋章。
- In 1947, he was awarded Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India (GCSI) by the British government (KCSI-1935).
indian medal
- After India gained independence from British rule in 1947, the Indian government awarded Digvi Jaisinji the Order of Indian Independence.
Polish Medal
- Digvijaysinhji was posthumously awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Republic of Poland in 2011.
car collection
- Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja owns a Lanchester Straight 8 imported from the UK.
Digvijaysinhji’s Lanchester Straight 8 photo taken before leaving the UK for India
Registration documents for Lanchester Straight 8
- Rytecraft Scooter.
Digvijaysinhji drives his Rytecraft Scootacar
die
Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja died in Bombay on February 3, 1966 at the age of 70. After his death, his son Shatrusalyasinhji Digvijaysinhji Jadeja became the Jam Saheb of Jamnagar.
Facts/Trivia
- During World War II, Digvijaysinhji lived in his camp and Polish children called him “The Good Maharaja.” He is also known by many other names like Indian Oskar Schindler, Bapu, The Big Jam and Jam Saheb.
- Digvijaysinhji was often engaged in the sport of hunting.
Photo taken by Digvijaysinhji (centre) after hunting a leopard
- Digvijaysinhji learned a lot about Polish culture while visiting an uncle in Poland in the 1920s.
- In 1942, during the Second World War, Digvijaysinhji spoke at the Royal Air Force Baroda Squadron.
Digvijaysinhji addressing members of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1942
- In 2013, the Polish government inaugurated the Good Maharaja Square in Warsaw. The government also named a school in Warsaw after Digvijaysinhji. A park is also named after Digvijaysinhji. According to multiple sources, he once told a Polish army general that he would like to see a road named after him in an independent Poland.
People gather at Good Maharaja Square in Warsaw, Poland
A board outside the school was renamed after him
- In 2015, the governments of India and Poland collaborated to produce a documentary called “India’s Little Poland.” It is based on Digvijaysinhji’s rehabilitation of Polish children in India during World War II.
- On December 17, 2022, The Good Maharaja, a film based on Digvijaysinhji’s efforts to provide asylum to Polish children during World War II, was released in English, Hindi and Polish. Sanjay Dutt plays the role of Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja in the film.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education