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{{Short description|Maharaja of Nawanagar from 1933 to 1966}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji
| title = [[GCSI]] [[GCIE]]
| image = Jam-Shri-Digvijaysinhji-Ranjitsinhji-Jadeja-Maharaja-Jam-Saheb-of-Nawanagar.jpg
| caption = Digvijaysinhji in 1935
| succession = [[Maharaja]] of [[Nawanagar State|Nawanagar]]
| moretext =
| reign = 2 April 1933 – 3 February 1966
| coronation =
| cor-type =
| predecessor = [[Ranjitsinhji]]
| successor = [[Shatrusalyasinhji]]
| regent =
| reg-type =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1895|09|18}}
| birth_place = Sadodar, [[Nawanagar State]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br />(now [[Jamnagar District]], [[Gujarat]], India)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1966|02|03|1895|09|18}}
| death_place = [[Bombay]], India
| burial_date =
| burial_place =
| spouse = {{marriage|Maharajkumari Baiji Raj Shri Kanchan Kunverba Sahiba |26 April 1923}}
| issue = [[Shatrusalyasinhji|Shatrusalyasinhji Jadeja]]
| full name = Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja
| house = [[Nawanagar State|Nawanagar]]
| father =
| mother =
| signature =
| module = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
| branch = {{army|British Raj}}
| serviceyears = 1919–1947
| servicenumber =
| unit =
| commands =
| battles_label =
| battles =
| awards =
| module = {{Infobox cricketer | embed=yes
| country =
| nickname =
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling = Right-arm
| role = [[Batsman]]
| international =
| testdebutdate =
| testdebutyear =
| testdebutagainst =
| testcap =
| lasttestdate =
| lasttestyear =
| lasttestagainst =
| club1 = [[Western India cricket team|Western India]]
| year1 = 1933–1934
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches1 = 1
| runs1 = 6
| bat avg1 = 3.00
| 100s/50s1 = 0/0
| top score1 = 6
| hidedeliveries = true
| catches/stumpings1 = 0/–
| date = 8 June
| year = 2019
| source = http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/28620.html ESPNcricinfo
|module = {{Infobox officeholder
|embed = yes
|office = 4th [[List of presidents of the Board of Control for Cricket in India|President of BCCI]]
|term_start = 1937
|term_end = 1938
|predecessor = [[Hamidullah Khan|Sir Hamidullah Khan]]
|successor = [[P. Subbarayan]]
}}
}}}}
}}

'''Sir Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCSI|GCIE}} (18 September 1895 – 3 February 1966), known widely in Poland as the '''Good Maharaja''' ([[Polish language|Polish]]: ''Dobry Maharadża''), was the ruling [[Maharaja]] [[Jam Sahib]] of [[Nawanagar State|Nawanagar]] (present day [[Jamnagar]]), succeeding his uncle, the famed [[cricketer]] [[Ranjitsinhji]]. He ruled Nawanagar from 1933 to 1947, when Nawanagar was merged into the [[Saurashtra (state)|United State of Kathiawar]], after which he held his title nominally.

Jadeja is personally credited with saving around 740 Polish orphans between 1942 and 1946, following the [[Invasion of Poland]]. While serving as the Hindu delegate to the British [[war cabinet]] he convinced members of the [[Red Cross]] and [[Anders' Army]] to transport the orphans to [[Jamnagar]], where he provided them with food, shelter, clothes, education, and medical care in the nearby coastal village of [[Balachadi]]. Following the [[German Instrument of Surrender|Surrender of Germany]], the orphans were returned to Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Maharaja Who Saved Hundreds of Polish Orphans |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/the-maharaja-who-saved-hundreds-of-polish-orphans |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Culture.pl |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Institute of National Remembrance |title=Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja (1895-1966) |url=https://szlakinadziei.ipn.gov.pl/sne/exposures/people/9601,Digvijaysinhji-Ranjitsinhji-Jadeja-1895-1966.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118133932/https://szlakinadziei.ipn.gov.pl/sne/exposures/people/9601,Digvijaysinhji-Ranjitsinhji-Jadeja-1895-1966.html |archive-date=2025-01-18 |access-date=2025-05-16 |work=Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom |language=en}}</ref>

In 2011, Jadeja was posthumously bestowed the [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland#Degrees|Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit]] by the [[President of Poland]], and is honoured at the [[Good Maharaja Square]] in [[Warsaw]].

==Biography==

Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja was born on 18 September 1895 in the village of Sadodar (present-day [[Gujarat]]) during the [[British Raj]]. He was the nephew of the famed cricketer and Maharaja, [[Ranjitsinhji]]. He attended [[Rajkumar College, Rajkot|Rajkumar College]] in [[Rajkot]] as well as [[Malvern College]] and [[University College London]].

Commissioned as [[second lieutenant]] in the [[British Indian Army]] in 1919, Jadeja enjoyed a military career for over a decade.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-03 |title=Meet Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja who gave refuge to Jews during World War II |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/meet-maharaja-digvijaysinhji-ranjitsinhji-jadeja-who-gave-refuge-to-jews-during-world-war-ii/3227926/ |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=Financialexpress |language=en}}</ref> Attached to the [[125th Napier's Rifles]] (now 5th Battalion (Napier's), [[Rajputana Rifles]]) in 1920, he served with the [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]], subsequently receiving a promotion to [[Lieutenant]] in 1921.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32967/pages/6355|title=London Gazette}}</ref> He then served with the [[Waziristan Field Force]] from 1922 to 1924; after a promotion to [[Captain (armed forces)|captain]] in 1929, he retired from the army in 1931.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/33790/pages/350|title=London Gazette}}</ref> However, he would continue to receive honorary promotions in the Indian Army until 1947, ending with the rank of [[Lieutenant general|lieutenant-general]].

=== Maharaja Jam Sahib ===
Following the death of his uncle, Jadeja became Maharaja Jam Sahib in 1933, continuing his uncle's policies of development and public service. He was [[knighted]] in 1935 and joined the [[Chamber of Princes]], leading it as president from 1937 to 1943. Upholding the cricketing tradition of his uncle, he served as President of the [[Board of Control for Cricket in India]] in 1937 to 1938 and was a member of several prominent sporting clubs. He had previously played a single [[first-class cricket|first-class]] match during the 1933–34 season, captaining [[Western India cricket team|Western India]] against the [[Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC]] during [[English cricket team in India in 1933–34|its tour of India and Ceylon]].<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/38/38769/First-Class_Matches.html First-class matches played by Digvijaysinhji (1)] – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 October 2014.</ref> He scored 0 and 6 in his two innings, in what was also the only first-class match played by his brother, Pratapsinhji.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/14/14869.html Western India v Marylebone Cricket Club], Marylebone Cricket Club in India and Ceylon 1933/34 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 October 2014.</ref> During the Second World War, Jadeja served on the [[Imperial War Cabinet]] and the National Defence Council, along with the [[Pacific War Council]].

=== Polish refugees ===
In 1942, he established the Polish Children's Camp in [[Balachadi]] for [[Displaced person|refugee]] Polish children who were brought out of the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] during [[World War II]].
[[File:Maharaja with kids and women from Poland.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Jadeja with Polish children on Christmas Eve]]
It existed until 1945, when it was closed and the children were transferred to Valivade, a quarter of the city of [[Kolhapur]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kresy-siberia.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=47057|title=Refugee camps in India, Jamnagar-Balachadi|access-date=8 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713170807/http://kresy-siberia.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=47057|archive-date=13 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120910203530/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-09-17/ahmedabad/27825350_1_maharaja-camps-jamnagar Anuradha Bhattacharya, ''History of Polish refugees in India between 1942–48''] [in] Polish love story in Gujarat, The Times of India, 17 September 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268578 Little Warsaw Of Kathiawar] ''Outlook'', 20 December 2010.</ref> The camp site today is part of 300 acre campus of the [[Sainik School, Balachadi|Sainik School Balachadi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268579|title=History: humanism Balachadians To Their Core Nawanagar saved their lives. The Poles show they have not forgotten.|date=20 December 2010|work=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]}}</ref> [[The Jamsaheb Digvijay Singh Jadeja School]] in [[Warsaw]] was established to honour this legacy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/a-maharaja-in-warsaw/article12980412.ece|title=A Maharaja in Warsaw|author=Jayaraj Manepalli|work=The Hindu|date=28 April 2012 |access-date=28 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/opinie8.nsf/nazwa/235_u/$file/235_u.pdf|title=Uchwała Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w sprawie uczczenia pamięci Dobrego Maharadży|access-date=12 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://theindiandiaspora.com/news-details/diaspora-news/primary-news/good-maharaja-of-jamnagar-remembered-in-polish-parliament.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315031817/http://theindiandiaspora.com/news-details/diaspora-news/primary-news/good-maharaja-of-jamnagar-remembered-in-polish-parliament.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=15 March 2016|title='Good Maharaja' of Jamnagar remembered in Polish parliament|author=Surender Bhutani|work=theindiandiaspora|access-date=14 March 2016}}</ref>

After the [[independence of India]], he signed the [[Instrument of Accession]] to the [[Dominion of India]] on 15 August 1947. He merged Nawanagar into the United State of Kathiawar the following year, serving as its ''[[Rajpramukh|Rajpramukh, a Chief of State]]'' until the [[Government of India]] abolished the post in 1956.

=== League of Nations and United Nations delegate ===
Jadeja represented India as a delegate at the first session of the [[League of Nations]] in 1920.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1thordinaryassemb.htm|title=First Ordinary Session of the Assembly|access-date=28 December 2015|archive-date=13 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113014630/http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1thordinaryassemb.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He was also the Deputy Leader of the Indian delegation to the UN, and chaired both the UN Administration Tribunal and the UN Negotiating Committee on Korean Rehabilitation following the [[Korean War]].

=== Death ===
[[File:Homage_to_the_Good_Maharajah_Monument,_Warsaw_Ochota,_Poland_04.jpg|thumb|Memorial in [[Warsaw]]. The nearby "Good Maharaja's Square" was named after Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji in recognition of his help to Polish refugees during [[World War II]].]]
Jadeja died in [[Mumbai|Bombay]] on 3 February 1966, aged 70. He was survived by his only son, [[Shatrusalyasinhji|Shatrusalyasinhj]], who was a [[first-class cricket]]er for [[Saurashtra cricket team|Saurashtra]].

=== Legacy ===
A 2015 documentary titled "Little Poland in India" was made in collaboration of both Indian and Polish governments to honour the efforts of Maharaja Jam Sahib<ref>{{Citation |last=AakaarFilms |title=A Little Poland in India (English) - The Complete Documentary |date=2015-11-22 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIPq-8RZxxM |access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> and [[Kira Banasinska]], who led the movement in India to rehabilitate Polish refugees. In 2025, a monument honoring Jadeja was installed in [[Nevatim]], a community in southern Israel that has a sizable population of Jews from India.

==Honours==

<div class="center">
[[File:1000px ribbon bar of the Order of Maria Anna.svg|100px]]
[[File:Order of the Indian Empire Ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:India General Service Medal 1909 BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:India Service Medal BAR.svg|100px]]

[[File:39-45 Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Africa Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Pacific Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:War Medal 39-45 BAR.svg|100px]]

[[File:King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:GeorgeVICoronationRibbon.png|100px]]
[[File:Indian Independence medal 1947.svg|100px]]
[[File:ImperialOrderCrownIndiaRibbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:POL Order Zaslugi RP kl3 BAR.png|100px|3rd class]]

</div>

*[[India General Service Medal (1909)|India General Service Medal]] w/ Wazirstan Clasp-1924
*[[King George V Silver Jubilee Medal]]-1935
*[[King George VI Coronation Medal]]-1937
*[[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] (GCIE)-1939
*[[1939-1945 Star]]-1945
*[[Africa Star]]-1945
*[[Pacific Star]]-1945
*[[War Medal 1939-1945]]-1945
*[[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] (GCSI)-1947 (KCSI-1935)
*[[India Service Medal]]-1945
*[[Order of the Star of India]]- 1947
*[[Indian Independence Medal]]-1947
*Commander's Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland]] (posthumous) – 2011<ref>{{cite web|last=Iwanek |first=Krzysztof |title=Maharadża odznaczony, nadanie imienia skwerowi na dobrej drodze! |url=http://www.polska-azja.pl/2012/02/01/maharadza-odznaczony-nadanie-imienia-skwerowi-na-dobrej-drodze/ |language=pl |date=1 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515192525/http://www.polska-azja.pl/2012/02/01/maharadza-odznaczony-nadanie-imienia-skwerowi-na-dobrej-drodze/ |archive-date=15 May 2013 }}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[India–Poland relations]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Commons category|Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji}}

*[http://culture.pl/en/article/the-maharaja-who-saved-hundreds-of-polish-orphans The Maharaja Who Saved Hundreds of Polish Orphans]
*[https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-full-story-of-Polish-people-who-sought-refuge-during-World-War-II-in-Gujarat-provided-by-Maharaja-Digvijaysinhji-Jadeja The Good Maharaja: The Ambassador to rescue of Polish children]
*[https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/a-maharaja-in-warsaw/article12980412.ece A Maharaja in Warsaw]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|
|before= [[Ranjitsinhji|Jam Saheb Shri Ranjitsinhji]]
|title=[[Jam Saheb]] of [[Nawanagar State|Nawanagar]]
|years=1933–1948
|after=Merged with [[Dominion of India]]
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Presidents of BCCI}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranjitsinhji, Digvijaysinhji}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian cricketers]]
[[Category:Western India cricketers]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:People educated at Malvern College]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
[[Category:Gujarati people]]
[[Category:People from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Nawanagar]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian royalty]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland]]
[[Category:Rajpramukhs]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Board of Control for Cricket in India]]
[[Category:Polish refugees]]
[[Category:Polish expatriates in India]]
[[Category:Refugees in India]]

Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja - Revision history

RuebenFrankfurte at 17:29, 15 March 2026