Who Was ‘Jam Saheb’? The King Who Gave Jews Refuge Mentioned In PM Modi’s Knesset Address

Last Updated:February 25, 2026, 21:57 IST

Narendra Modi recalled Jams ahib Digvijaysinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar, who sheltered nearly 1000 Polish Jewish children during World War II.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Israel’s parliament — the Knesset, during his two-day visit to Israel, he did more than speak about strategic ties and modern partnerships. He reached back into history.

In his speech, Modi recalled a lesser-known but deeply moving chapter of India–Israel goodwill: the story of a Gujarati ruler who offered sanctuary to Jewish children fleeing the horrors of the Holocaust.

That ruler was Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar (present-day Jamnagar in Gujarat).

A Haven Found Far From Home

In 1942, as World War II raged and Nazi persecution devastated Jewish communities across Europe, nearly 1,000 Polish children, many of them Jewish, found refuge in India.

After a harrowing journey through Soviet territories and the Middle East, the children arrived on Indian shores. It was then that Maharaja Digvijaysinhji stepped forward.

He established a special settlement for them at Balachadi, near Jamnagar, providing food, education, shelter and medical care. More importantly, he offered them dignity and belonging.

According to survivor accounts, the Maharaja told the children, “You are no longer orphans. You are now Nawanagaris." Absorbing them into his kingdom as his subjects.

At a time when many nations had closed their borders to Jewish refugees, a small princely state in western India opened its doors.

Historians note that he funded much of the relief effort personally. The children stayed in Balachadi, near Jamnagar, until the end of the war in 1945, after which many were resettled in Poland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and elsewhere.

But they never forgot India.

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