Kira Banasińska

Kira Banasińska (1899-2002) was the wife of Eugeniusz Banasiński, the first Polish Consul-General of Poland in Bombay[1]. She was a representative of the Polish Red Cross in India[1]. Kira cared for and helped in rehabilitating the lives of several thousand Polish children, women and old people who were refugees from Russia, who were accommodated during World War II [2] with local help in India[1].

Role in the Resettlement of Polish Refugees

While fleeing persecution in the erstwhile Soviet Union, thousands of malnourished Polish refugees had gathered on foot[3]. She led the movement in India to source relief and aid for the refugees[4]. She immediately initiated awareness campaigns and fundraisers in support of the refugees[3]. Banasińska facilitated their entry into India on supply trucks. She then worked with government officials in Maharashtra and Gujarat to develop dedicated settlements for the refugees[1].

In 1942, she convinced Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar to shelter and school 1000 refugee Polish children at his winter home in Jamnagar-Balachadi[5][6][7].

By 1943, she worked with the Jam Sahib to start construction for a family camp at a stretch of his land in Valivade, a quarter city of Kolhapur[8][9][10]. She helped move resources to build a large number of barracks to house over 6500 Poles. In 1945, the camp at Balachadi was closed and the children were transferred to the family camp in Valivade[11]. The city, situated 9 kms away from Kolhapur, was home to 10,000 Polish refugees during 1943-1947 [12].

Personal Life

In 1944, Kira Banasińska and her husband left their jobs in India, and moved to London after the war. Two years later, Kira - reluctant to reside in communist Poland - returned to India. In 1958, the couple applied for Indian citizenship[13].

Role in Montessori Education Movement in India

Banasińska pioneered Montessori Education in India with help from industrialist JRD Tata[14].

Death

Kira lived to the age of 102 and died in Hyderabad in 2002. She was buried beside her husband in St Peter’s cemetery at Mahalakshmi[13].

Awards and Recognition

in 1991, Banasińska was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta, Poland's highest civilian order for her work on behalf of the children[15].

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References
  1. "This Maharashtra Village Gave a Safe Home to 5000 Polish Refugees During WW2!". The Better India. 12 Oct 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  2. "Polish Indian Relations". newdelhi.mfa.gov.pl. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  3. Bhattacharjee, Anuradha (2012-12-12). The second homeland : Polish refugees in India. Herzog, Franek. New Delhi. ISBN 978-81-321-1143-6. OCLC 893681925.
  4. "Slice of India in London". Tribune India. 30 Jun 2019.
  5. "'Little Poland' in Kolhapur". Yahoo. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  6. "Little Warsaw Of Kathiawar | Outlook India Magazine". Outlook India. 20 Dec 2010. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  7. "'Little Poland' in Kolhapur". in.news.yahoo.com. 29 Sep 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  8. "Refugee camps in India, Jamnagar-Balachadi". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  9. 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 - Polish love story in Gujarat, The Times of India, 17 September 2006
  10. Little Warsaw Of Kathiawar Outlook, 20 December 2010.
  11. "A Little Poland in India / About". Solopreneur. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  12. Deshp, Devidas (25 Nov 2019). "The last Pole of Valivade". Pune Mirror. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  13. "» Kira Banasińska". kresy-siberia.org. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  14. Lala, R. M. (1993). Beyond the last blue mountain : a life of J.R.D. Tata (New & updated ed.). New Delhi, India: Viking. ISBN 0-14-016901-6. OCLC 41913377.
  15. "Autobiografia. Polskie losy na krańcach świata". dzieje.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-11-25.
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