Kolhapur. Photo: wikipedia
The project, which is being funded by the Polish government, is being managed on site by retired Indian colonel Vijaysinh Gaikwad, who has personal ties with the refugees.
Gaikwad's father ran a shop at the vast refugee camp in Valivade, near Kolhapur, between 1943 and 1948.
''Every year, families of Polish refugees visit the graveyard and offer prayers,'' Gaikwad told The Times of India.
''On seeing the condition of the cemetery, relatives had often expressed their concerns, which led the Polish government to start the restoration work," he added.
The retired colonel, who has vivid memories of the vanished Valivade camp, is currently president of the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association of Kolhapur.
76 Poles were buried in the specially built cemetery in the Tararani Chowk district of Kolhapur.
Escape from Soviet captivity
The Valivade refugees, who were mainly women and teenagers, had undergone considerable hardships before reaching India.
They had been deported to the depths of the Soviet Union after the Red Army occupied eastern Poland in September 1939.
The refugees were freed from forced labour camps and collective farms following an amnesty declared by Joseph Stalin after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
The Polish government-in-exile in London supported General Wladyslaw Anders, himself a Soviet captive, in his bid to transport as many refugees as possible to Iran.
Many later fought as part of the British 8th Army, while thousands were given asylum in locations as varied as Uganda, Mexico, New Zealand and India.
Two camps functioned in India. The largest was at Valivade, while one mainly for orphans was opened at Balachadi in Gujarat, thanks to the Maharaja of Nawanagar.
The camp at Valivade had the character of a small Polish town, with a church, schools, common rooms, a cinema, a cafe, and a market. Families were provided with an allowance via the Polish government-in-exile.
After the war most of the refugees, who had suffered in the Soviet Union, were wary of returning to Poland, where a Moscow-backed communist regime had been installed.
The camps were finally closed in 1948, and the refugees settled in the UK, Australia, Canada and other countries, while some returned to Poland. (nh)