PM Modi's Poland visit: 'Good Maharaja' connect, homage to Indian soldiers, diaspora to be focus 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Poland later this week. He will bethe first Indian prime minister to visit the country in45 years. The last PM to visit the country was Morarji Desai in 1979 and before him Indira Gandhi in 1967 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955. PM Modi will visit the country on August21and 22. During the visit, he will hold meetings with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda.

One of the key features of the visit will be PM Modi paying homage to Jamsaheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the former ruler of the princely state of Nawangar, Gujarat at the "Good Maharaja Square" in the capital Warsaw.

Jamsaheb, as he is popularly known, gave refuge to a thousand Polish children during World War 2 when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin. His role in safeguarding Polish children earned him global respect, and Jamsaheb’s role is still remembered in Poland.

In 2014, a square was named in Poland "the Good Maharaja" Square, which will be visited by PM Modi. Gujarat is the Indian PM’s home state, and in the past, he has lauded the role of Jamsaheb.

Another key focus will be paying homage to Indian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, which paved the way for the liberation of Rome. Polish and Indian soldiers under the British Army fought together in the battle, one of the biggest allied campaigns in World War 2.

PM Modi will pay homage to Indian soldiers at a memorial in the Polish capital Warsaw.

Watch:PM Modi's visit to forge new chapter in India-Poland Ties: Top Polish Diplomat

India has in the past few years highlighted the role played by Indian soldiers in World War 2, which has been downplayed in the past. Indian soldiers played a key role in the North African Campaign, East Africa, Burma Campaign, and Italy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited several memorials globally to pay homage to Indian soldiers who fought in World War 2 including the Heliopolis Commonwealth War Cemetery, in Cairo, Egypt last year.

PM Modi will also address the Indian diaspora. The Indian community in Poland, estimated at around 25,000 people, includes traders who arrived after the fall of communism, as well as professionals employed by multinational and Indian companies, particularly in the software and IT sectors.

Around 11 Indian IT companies, employing more than 10,000 professionals, are currently active in Poland and operate their Europe operations from the country.

Approximately 5,000 Indian students are enrolled in various universities across Poland. The central European country also has over 100 Indian restaurants.

Poland has also been a strong centre of Indology. Sanskrit was being studied at the 600-year-old Jagiellonian University in Krakow in 1860. The Indology Department of the Oriental Institute at the University of Warsaw is the biggest centre for Indian studies in Central Europe.

Yoga is popular in the country as well. It is estimated that there are over 300,000 yoga practitioners in Poland, with about 1,000 yoga centres and 8,000 teachers propagating yoga in Poland.