 | |
 Poland |  India |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of the Republic of Poland,New Delhi | Embassy of India,Warsaw |
| Envoy | |
| Chargé d’affaires Sebastian Domżalski | AmbassadorNagma Mallick |
Indo–Polish relations are thebilateralrelations between theRepublic of Poland and theRepublic of India. Historically, relations have generally been friendly, characterised by understanding and cooperation on an international front.
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During the 16th centuryRenaissance and theAge of Discovery period in theCrown of the Kingdom of Poland, a small number of Poland's nobility, statesmen, merchants, and writers visited India and fostered the abiding interest of the Polish people in thecivilization,philosophy, spiritual traditions, art, andculture of India.[1][2]
One of the first diplomatic dignitaries and travellers during this period to make Polish contact with India—then under the expanding rule of theMughal Empire—was the Polishnobleman andstatesmanPaweł Palczowski [pl]. He was a long-serving royal courtier to KingSigismund III Vasa and hailed from a branch of the distinguished seniorSilesian noble House of Saszowski.[1][2][3][4]
Others from this period includeErazm Kretkowski [pl], a Polish diplomatic representative for KingSigismund II Augustus in theOttoman Empire in 1538 and royalcastellan ofBrześć Kujawski andGniezno, andKrzysztof Pawłowski [pl], a Polishseafarer and diarist who provided a description of India preserved in Polish, recorded in a letter dated 1569 to an unknown person.[1][2] Pawłowski, who came to India in 1569, left a rudimentary description of the sea route fromGdańsk via Portugal (Lisbon) to India (Goa) in the form of a comprehensive letter-relation to a friend inKraków, in which he described the customs of "dark people".
A consequence of these voyages soon provided Indian echoes in Polish literature.[1]
As early as 1611, the PolishCatholic priest, translator, and poet,Stanislaw Grochowski (1542-1612), published a book titledCudowne wiersze z indyjskiego jezyka (Wonderful Verses from the Indian Language).[1] It was a translation of theBhagavad Gita, which had first been translated fromSanskrit intoMedieval Latin by the Italian poet andJesuit missionary Francisco Benci (1542-1594), who had stayed in India and later lectured at the Jesuit college inPułtusk, Poland, where Stanislaw Grochowski was a professor.[1]
During the 19th century, severalSanskrit classics were translated into Polish and a 'History of Ancient India' in Polish was one of the first of its kind to be published inEurope.[1] A Chair of Sanskrit was set up at theJagiellonian University ofKraków in 1893. Studies and research in Indian languages and literature had developed at the Universities of Kraków,Warsaw,Wrocław andPoznań.
A consulate of Poland inMumbai, an honorary consulate inKolkata and a consular agency inAmritsar were established in 1933, 1935 and 1936, respectively, and the consulate in Mumbai was elevated to a consulate-general in 1939.[5]
Mahatma Gandhi andJawaharlal Nehru were known to be vocal supporters of Poland's struggle against theinvasion of Poland byGermany, theSoviet Union, and a smallSlovak contingent that marked the beginning ofWorld War II.[6][7][8] Both Indianintelligentsia and Indian military officials were vocal supporters of Polish autonomy and freedom when Germany and the Soviet Unionoccupied Poland in September 1939. Many Polish citizens were given refuge in India by Indianmaharajas.[6][9][10] One of the refugees was the accomplished Polishvisual artistStefan Norblin [pl] whom theMaharaja of Jodhpur commissioned to decorate theUmaid Bhawan Palace with a series of paintings, decorations and furniture designs. They were rediscovered in the 1990s.[6][11] Whilst staying in India duringWorld War II, Norblin also painted portraits of the local aristocracy and decorated their residences.[11]
Indian prisoners of war were held by the Germans alike Polish and otherAllied POWs in theStalag XX-B and Stalag XXI-BPOW camps located inMalbork andTur, respectively.[12][13]
Poles and Indians were part of the largeAllied coalition in the major battles ofTobruk (1941) andMonte Cassino (1944).[14][15]
During theSecond World WarOccupation of Poland by theSoviet Union in the east and theGerman Reich in the west, theMaharajaJam Sahib ofNawanagar State,Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar, extended hospitality and sanctuary to more than 640 Polishdisplaced persons, the majority wereorphaned children and women, out of some 5,000 refugees sent to India from Soviet deportation, and despite India itself suffering from a severe backdrop of drought and famine at that time.[16][17][18] After their ship and plight was turned away by every country approached and when the British Crown governor inMumbai (Bombay) too refused them entry, the Maharaja Jam Sahib, frustrated by the lack of empathy and unwillingness of the British government to act, ordered the ship to dock at Rozi port in his province.[16][17] The displaced persons, lived in camps in several places in western India, includingBalachadi (near Jamnagar), Valivade (nearKolhapur) andPanchgani.[16][17] Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji's unparalleled act of generosity, saw him become patron of the first public school complex founded in Poland after the Second World War, located in the capital ofWarsaw, and namedJam Saheba Digvijay Sinhji in his honour.[16][17][19] In 2012, theSejm of the Republic of Poland, honoured the 50th anniversary of his death, posthumously awarding the Commander's Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and the Warsaw City Council named one of its citypark squares inOchota district after him - the 'Square of the Good Maharaja' (Skwer Dobrego Maharadży).[18][20]
During the post-war period, when Poland became thePolish People's Republic under theSoviet Occupation Forces andSoviet-backed communist regime, Poland, then a state in theEastern Bloc, was not a free agent to choose its destiny.[9] This relaxed after the death ofJoseph Stalin in 1953. The international situation became less tense, and the new Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchev took a liking to India'sprime ministerJawaharlal Nehru.[9] In 1954, Poland and India formally agreed to establishresident diplomatic missions, and the Indian Embassy inWarsaw was opened in 1957, shortly after the 1956Polish October revolution that marked a change in the politics of Poland.[9] During theCold War period, both Warsaw andNew Delhi had close ties with theSoviet Union and this made them natural friends. On 25 January 1977 an agreement on the operation of air services between the two countries was signed in New Delhi.[21]
One of the political emigrants who avoided returning to communist Poland was the renowned architectMaciej Nowicki. While he was a professor at the University of North Carolina, he was entrusted with designing the modern capital ofPunjab. His plans were groundbreaking and could constitute a new quality in world urban planning. However, his project was never realized due to his untimely death in a plane crash on his way back from India to the United States on 31 August 1950. Nowicki was only 40 at the time. The work on the plan ofChandigarh was consequently entrusted to the world-renowned Swiss-French architectLe Corbusier.[22]
Following thefall of Communism in Poland, both countries focused on improving ties with theEuropean Community and theUnited States. Even after theevents of 1989, when Poland transitioned to the modern democraticRepublic of Poland, relations with India have maintained continuity and have remained on an even keel reflecting relations with India were not an adjunct of the Cold War and are based on sound principles. Contacts between the Indian and Polish Parliaments were established after the collapse ofCommunism in 1989. A Polish parliamentary delegation led by theMarshal of the Sejm, had visited India in December 1992. A Polish-Indian Parliamentary Group had been set up during the term of the last Parliament which held office from 1996 to 2001.Speaker of Lok Sabha,Manohar Joshi led a multi-party Parliamentary delegation to Poland from 22 to 26 May 2002. Also, the Speaker of theSejm of the Republic of Poland,Jozef Oleksy, led a Polish parliamentary delegation to India from 9–11 December 2004. In April 2009,Indian PresidentPratibha Devisingh Patil visited Poland.[6] In September 2010, Polish Prime MinisterDonald Tusk visited India and met with Indian politicians and businessmen.
In May 2021, Poland donated over 1.5 tons of medical equipment includingoxygen concentrators to India in response to a sharp rise ofCOVID-19 infections in India.[23]
On 22 August 2024, the Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi paid an official state visit toWarsaw, Poland. The visit was described as "historic" as it marked the first time in 45 years since the last state visit by an Indian PM to Poland. The Indian PM held talks with the Polish Prime MinisterDonald Tusk, which focused on deepening the bilateral political, economic and security ties between the two countries.[24] During the meeting, the leaders took the decision to elevate the Polish-Indian relations to the level of a "strategic partnership".[25] The talks also included strengthening the defence industry collaboration between India and Poland as well as discussing the ongoingWar in Ukraine.[26]
Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown about eleven times from 1992 to 2008.[6] Bilateral trade, which totaled US$675.73 million (approximately₹3,825 crores) and US$861.78 million (approximately₹4,873 crores) in 2006 and 2007 respectively, crossed US$1billion (approximately₹5,700 crores) in 2008 with US$1274.77 million[6] (approximately₹7,000 crores). During 2005, major Indian companies signed several agreements on investments that are expected to create more than 3,500 new jobs in Poland.[27] India's major exports to Poland includeTea,Coffee,Spices,Textiles,Pharmaceuticals, machinery and instruments,auto parts and surgical items. India's imports from Poland include machinery except electric and electronic appliances, artificial resins,plastic material, non-ferrous metals and machine tools.[28]Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has sent several delegations to Poland to explore economic opportunities in various sectors.[28] Indian companies such asTata Consultancy Services,Wipro Technologies, ZenSar andVideocon have already set up their bases in Poland.[29] The 'Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry'(IPCCI) was formed in 2008 under the astute leadership of MrJowahar Jyothi Singh(JJ Singh) to protect and represent the interests within the range of economic activity and to promote economic relations between India and Poland.[29] Direct nonstop flights provided by LOT Polish Airlines between Warsaw Chopin Airport and Indira Gandhi International Airport started September 12, 2019.[30]
Both countries have a long-standing history of cooperation in science and technology. The first Indo-Polish Agreement on this cooperation was signed in March 1974; subsequently, a new agreement with more focus Programmes of Cooperation (POC) in science and technology were signed between the two countries from time to time. TheCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and theIndian National Science Academy (INSA) have ongoing scientific exchange programs with thePolish Academy of Sciences (PAS).[6]
India's defence relations with Poland have grown from military cooperation to comprehensive defence cooperation that includes courses, training forUN peacekeeping operations, and exchange of observers during army exercises.[31] India and Poland signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation in February 2003 during the visit of thePrime Minister of PolandLeszek Miller to India. India awarded contracts worth US$600 million (₹3.5 thousand-crores) to Poland for modernisation oftanks and the acquisition ofair defence missiles. TheT-72M1 with 800horsepower engines were upgraded with 1000 hp engines and re-equipped with modernfire control systems (DRAWA-T [pl]) andthermal imaging equipment. Both India and Poland are considering privatising their defence industries and see good prospects for mutual investments.[32]Indian Army chief GeneralDeepak Kapoor visited Warsaw in March 2008 followed by Poland's Deputy Foreign MinisterRyszard Schnepf in June the same year.[33] India also acquired 625 assaultparachutes from the Polish company Air-Pol with automatic devices ensuring their reliable opening, with a total value of US$1.5 million. India's growing defence buy-outs from Poland has disappointedRussia which had considered India a safe market for its military hardware.[34] Poland also delivered a batch of 80WZT-3armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs) to the Indian Army in 2001 at theKolar Gold Fields facility inKarnataka and the remaining batch in 2004. The final batch of 40 WZT-3 ARVs were assembled in India from kits supplied from Poland.[35]
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