This article covers cultural, educational and people-to-people links between India and Poland, including Indology in Polish universities, ICCR programmes and awards, yoga, the wartime story of the "Good Maharaja", and the Indian community in Poland. It is based on the MEA bilateral brief of June 2026.

Cultural agreements

The operational bilateral agreements listed in the MEA brief of June 2026 include an Agreement on Cultural Cooperation (1957), an Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Tourism (2009) and an Agreement on audio-visual co-production (2012).

Indology in Poland

The brief refers to a strong tradition of Indology studies in Poland, with Polish scholars translating Sanskrit into Polish as early as the 19th Century. Sanskrit was studied at the 600 year old Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the oldest in Poland, in 1860-61, and a Chair of Sanskrit was established there in 1893.

The Indology Department of the Oriental Institute at the University of Warsaw, established in 1932, is described in the brief as the biggest center for Indian studies in Central Europe. Indian languages, literature, culture and Indology are also studied at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and the University of Wroclaw.

ICCR sponsored the first Central & Eastern European regional conference of Indology at Warsaw University in September 2005, in which 19 scholars from 11 countries participated. An MoU for the establishment of an ICCR Chair of Indian studies at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, was signed in February 2017, and three Indian Professors have since been appointed as ICCR Chair Professors.

Awards and recognition

Prof. Maria Christopher Byrski, former Ambassador of Poland to India (1993-96) and a Polish Sanskrit scholar, received the Padma Shri Award from the President of India in March 2022 for his contribution in the field of literature and education. According to the brief, Prof. Byrski has taught Polish Indologists and translated the Manusmriti and the dramas of Bhasa and Kalidasa into Polish.

ICCR President Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe conferred the Bharat Mitr Samman, also known as the Distinguished Indologist Award 2022, on Dr. Joanna Jurewicz, Chair of South Asia Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Warsaw, on 12 October 2023. ICCR conferred another Bharat Mitr Samman, Distinguished Alumni 2023, on Mr. Krzysztof Jakub Iwanek on 14 December 2025.

Academic exchanges

The brief records several ICCR programmes involving Polish scholars and students:

  • Three Polish students of Hindi took part in the Visitors Programme for International Hindi students organised by ICCR in May 2023.
  • Prof. Halina Marlewicz (Jagiellonian University), Prof. Monika Browarczyk (Adam Mickiewicz University) and Prof. Przemyslaw Szurek (University of Wroclaw) took part in ICCR's Knowledge India International Convention in December 2023.
  • Prof. Danuta Stasik, Chair of South Asian Studies, University of Warsaw, visited JNU, DU, IGNOU, Sahitya Akademi, AU and Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag, under ICCR's Academic Visitors Programme, for interactions on Hindi pedagogy and Indology.

Dr. Anna Rucinska, a Sanskrit scholar and translator of the Gita into Polish, participated in the International Gita Mahotsav 2025 held in Kurukshetra from 23-25 November. She was a panelist on "Navigating the Crossroads of Choice, Conflict and Consequences".

Yoga

The brief states that Poland has over 100-year history of yoga. As of June 2026, it estimates that there are over 300,000 yoga practitioners in Poland, with about 1,000 yoga centers and 8,000 teachers.

The Association of Schools of Yoga, started in 2013 with 11 yoga schools, now has 50 yoga schools under its umbrella. The Art of Living Foundation, Brahma Kumaris and the Iyengar Yoga Association are among the associations promoting yoga in Poland, and the International Day of Yoga is celebrated every year in different Polish cities.

The Good Maharaja connection

According to the brief, Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar accepted more than 1000 Polish refugees, mainly children, as they escaped the depredations of the Second World War in the 1940s. Another 5000 Polish refugees found refuge at the Valivade-Kolhapur camp. The surviving Polish children have formed an Association of Poles, which meets every year in one of the major Polish cities.

A monument commemorating the Jam Saheb was unveiled in October 2014 at the Square of the Good Maharaja in the Ochota District of Warsaw. A plaque commemorating the Valivade-Kolhapur camp was inaugurated near the Monte Casino War Memorial in Warsaw in November 2017. Eight Polish primary and secondary schools are named after the Jam Saheb, known as "Good Maharaja" in Poland.

With the support of ICCR, the Embassy organised a commemorative event entitled "Remembering the Good Maharajas" in the Old Orangery of the Royal Lazienki park on 5 July 2022. The Deputy Foreign Minister, the Deputy Speaker and the Governor of Mazovia represented Poland, and representatives of the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar and the Kolhapur Royal Family attended from India.

During his visit to Poland in August 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Jamsaheb Youth Exchange Programme, under which the Government of India will arrange the visit of 20 Polish youth to India, including to the Balachadi and Valivade camps in Jamnagar and Kolhapur. The first visit of a 20-member Polish youth delegation under the Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange Programme took place from 19-27 February 2025.

Commemorating Indian leaders

A bust of Mahatma Gandhi stands in the library of the University of Warsaw. It was unveiled in May 2002 by the then Lok Sabha Speaker, Shri Manohar Joshi.

The brief states that three streets in Warsaw are named after Indian leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, and another is named after Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore. The cities of Krakow and Lodz also have streets named after Mahatma Gandhi. A number of Indo-Polish Friendship Societies promote Indian culture and people-to-people contacts locally.

The Indian community in Poland

As of June 2026, the brief estimates the Indian community in Poland at approximately 30,000. It consists of traders in textiles, garments and electronics who came after the collapse of communism, and professionals working with multinational and Indian companies and in software and IT businesses.

According to the brief, approximately 5000 Indian students are currently pursuing studies in various universities in Poland. More than 100 Indian restaurants operate in Poland.