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1954
--- 2004
50 Years of Diplomatic
Relations between
India
and
Poland
This year we are celebrating 50 years
of Indo Polish Diplomatic Relations.
In
the year 2003 we have been celebrating the 70th anniversary
of establishment of the Consulate of Poland in
Bombay
.
The
relations between the peoples of
India
and
Poland
date long back into 19th century and we could even find
Polish travelers reaching
India
in earlier centuries.
Independent
India and post 2nd World War
Poland
have formally established their diplomatic relations in the year of
1954.
Those
were the times of implementing various concepts of centralized
controlled economy both in
Poland
and in
India
. Bilateral Indo Polish trade agreements allowed for unprecedented
growth in business development. Such branches of economy like
mining, steel industry, shipping and ports, heavy machinery,
railways equipment became fields of intensive business contacts between
our two countries.
Simultaneously
the number of Polish people visiting
India
increased. These were mainly engineers, experts working on industrial
mega -projects executed in
India
with Polish assistance.
Both
of our countries were experiencing the central planning of economy.
and
both of our countries less at the same time in history entered the path
of economic reforms aimed at functioning in free market environment.
There
is a longtime tradition and strong presence of Indian studies at the
Universities in
Poland
. Many of these students visited also Mumbai and academic centers in
southern part of
India
.
Mumbai
has always been the center of Indo Polish business relations in the
fields of maritime economy, shipbuilding, heavy machinery for power
plant, agriproducts and others.
There
are many places of Polish national memory in Mumbai, Maharashtra and
other places of
South India
. There were six thousand Polish war refugees, mainly women and children
in
India
during the period of 1942-1948. And
while their stay in
India
was financed by the Polish Government in exile, it is the warmth and
friendship of the people of
India
that these people have taken with them throughout their lives. We have
the Association of Poles from
India
very actively
participating in preserving the
places of Polish national memory in
India
.
For
almost 18 years already we have the
Indo Polish Friendship Association
in Mumbai.
On
the business side again we
have the Indo Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Mumbai and
recently in November 2003 the
Indo Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tamil Nadu was launched
in Chennai.
We
are very glad to see steady growth of
people from
India
visiting
Poland
and from
Poland
visiting
India
.
With
the accession of
Poland
in The European Union we hope that our
tradition of long Indo Polish relations ,including
50 years of diplomatic relations will contribute
to further development of ties between
India
and
Europe
The
Consulate General of Poland in Mumbai is happy to join Indian and Polish people
in celebrating the 50th anniversary of establishing our
diplomatic relations.
Consul General of the Republic
of
Poland
in Mumbai
The Consulate
General of
Poland in Mumbai was opened in 1933. Our first Consul Dr. Eugeniusz
Banasinski held the post till 1944 and during that time large number
of Polish refugees fleeing the horrors of war and persecution in the
Soviet Union were directed to safe locations in India.
It was the prime
role of the Consulate of Poland to assist in the operation of
providing shelter and certain life stabilisation for these thousands
of people, in the safe camps in Kolhapur and Jamnagar. There are still
traces of Polish presence in Mumbai from those times. It was only a
few weeks ago that 11 graves of Polish Nationals were located at the
Sewri cemetry.
It was with the
revival of Indo-Polish economic realtions which followed the visit of
India's Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, that the significance
of the Consulate in Mumbai came to a new perspective. The Consulate
played an important assisting role in the promotion and organisation
of the Polish trade with India first of all in such fields as agriculture
and agro industry, shipping industry and ocean lines activities as well
as heavy machinery industry.
With the change
in the political and economic scenario in Poland and to some extent
in India, the position of the Consulate of Poland has been strengthened
as a promotion center for business promotion, cultural exchange and
creating motivating environment for further development of Indo-Polish
friendship.
Mentioned below
are the names of the Consuls of Poland in Mumbai :
-
Dr. Eugeniusz Banasinski
-
Mr. Janusz Stakinski
-
Mr. Jan Kaminski
-
Mr. Andrzej Wojcik
-
Mr. Janusz Brolski
-
Mr. Jerzy Dylewski
-
Mr. Edmund Kaczmarek
-
Mr. Henryk Nawrocki
-
Mr. Stanislaw Kolodziej
-
Mr. Wojciech Gumowski
-
Mr. Wladyslaw Kowalski
-
Mr. Alfred Prus
-
Dr. Krzysztof Majka
-
Mr. Ireneusz Makles
-
Mr. Marek Moron
- Mr. Janusz Bylinski
All these diplomats
have contributed significantly to the development of Indo Polish realtions.
The appointment
of the former Consul to Mumbai Dr. Krzysztof Majka as the new
Ambassador of Poland with effect from 7th November 2001, deserves special
mention.
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