Minister Zbigniew Rau meets with Indian delegation led by President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations
06.07.2022
On 6 July, Minister Zbigniew Rau met with a delegation from India led by Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. A day before, the Indian delegation took part in Commemoration of the Good Maharajas, an event organised by the Indian Embassy as part of India’s 75th anniversary of independence, in the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw.
The delegation included representatives of two Indian royal families who sheltered Polish refugees during World War II.
Minister Rau underlined the strong people-to-people links between Poland and India, dating back to World War II, and recalled the assistance provided by two royal families from Jamnagar and Kolhapur to about 6,000 Polish refugees, victims of Soviet repression. He recalled that Polish women with children, orphans and elderly people lived on Indian soil in settlements specially built for them, between 1942 and 1948.
The chief of Polish diplomacy also referred to his recent visit to India in April this year. During that visit, he awarded a member of the Indian delegation, Mr Sambhaji Chhatrapati, who is a descendant of the royal Kolhapur family, the honorary Bene Merito distinction in recognition of his contribution to promoting Poland abroad.
Discussing the current international situation, Minister Zbigniew Rau presented Poland’s position on the Russian attack on Ukraine and recalled Poland’s assistance in evacuating more than 6,000 Indian citizens from Ukraine.
Łukasz Jasina
Rzecznik Prasowy MSZ
Fot. Sebastian Indra/MSZ