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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →My Home India is a 45-minute documentary by Anjali Bhushan about Kira Banasinska’s role in helping Polish refugees find shelter in India during World War II. The story reaches beyond one organizer: Polish civilians deported to the Soviet Union were released after a 1942 amnesty and evacuated with the Anders Army. In India, children found refuge at Balachadi near Jamnagar, while Valivade near Kolhapur grew into the largest Polish settlement.
What is My Home India about?
The documentary follows the story of Kira Banasinska and the effort to settle Polish refugees in India. The Bangalore International Centre lists it as an English- and Polish-language documentary, directed and written by Anjali Bhushan, produced by Apricot Sky Entertainment, and co-produced by Malgorzata Czausow and Film Polska. Its description says Banasinska worked with the Polish Red Cross to help refugees settle at Jamnagar and Valivade (Bangalore International Centre).
The London Indian Film Festival archive also lists the film as a 2019 India-Poland documentary, running 45 minutes, with English and Polish audio and English subtitles (London Indian Film Festival). Release-year metadata is not consistent: Google Play labels it a 2018 movie and reports it as unavailable, while festival listings use 2019. Those listings do not establish where it can be watched now, so check a current service listing before relying on an old watch link.
Why were Polish civilians in India?
In 1940 and 1941, the Soviet authorities deported Polish civilians to the USSR. After the 1942 Sikorski–Mayski agreement and amnesty, many regained freedom and left the Soviet Union with the Anders Army, according to Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) (IPN history of Balachadi).
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Some of those evacuees reached India and found shelter in settlements established for Polish refugees. The figures often associated with this story describe different groups: the children at Balachadi, residents of Valivade, and the broader population evacuated to India. They should not be treated as interchangeable totals.
Balachadi: a refuge for Polish children
Balachadi, near Jamnagar in present-day Gujarat, was established in July 1942 as a settlement for Polish children. An IPN exhibition says it provided shelter to 650 children. The settlement closed in 1946 as its residents moved to the larger camp at Valivade (IPN history of Balachadi).
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Balachadi was one part of the wider refuge effort, not the name of the principal settlement for all Polish evacuees in India. Its history is specifically tied to the children who lived there.
Valivade: the largest Polish settlement in India
Valivade, in the former princely state of Kolhapur, operated from 1943 to 1948. The IPN describes it as the largest Polish refugee settlement on the Indian peninsula (IPN history of Valivade).
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A separate IPN commemorative account says 5,000 Polish refugees found shelter there during 1942–1948 (IPN commemoration). The date range in that plaque text and the camp’s 1943–1948 operating dates come from distinct descriptions; the settlement count is Valivade-specific.
Valivade was described as more than a place to sleep. Scroll’s 2019 account reports that it had a school, hospital, post office, and fire brigade, and that more than 5,000 asylum seekers arrived there in 1943. The article says Bhushan’s film returns to the settlement through archival footage and interviews (Scroll, 2019).
How many Polish refugees found refuge in India?
The answer depends on which population a figure counts. The IPN’s archival account describes records relating to approximately 6,000 refugees evacuated to India overall; its donated collection includes an original list of about 5,000 names. The 5,000 figure on the IPN commemorative page refers to people sheltered at Valivade, not the total evacuated to India (IPN archive account; IPN commemoration).
| Figure | What it counts | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 650 | Children sheltered at Balachadi | IPN exhibition material; the settlement was established in July 1942. |
| 5,000 | Polish refugees sheltered at Valivade | IPN commemorative plaque text; a settlement-specific count. |
| Approximately 6,000 | Polish refugees evacuated to India overall | IPN archival account; its collection also includes a list of about 5,000 names. |
The numbers refer to distinct scopes and source descriptions. In particular, the list of about 5,000 names in the archive is not presented by the IPN as a replacement for its broader estimate of approximately 6,000 evacuees.
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What role did Kira Banasinska play?
Banasinska was the wife of Eugeniusz Banasinski, Poland’s first consul general in Bombay. The Bangalore International Centre says she worked with the Polish Red Cross and helped settle refugees. That organizing role is central to the documentary’s account (Bangalore International Centre).
The Indian Express reported in 2024 that Bhushan said Banasinska made 75 trips across undivided India to secure permission for refugees and arrange transport. The figure is Bhushan’s account as quoted by the newspaper, rather than a count independently established by the other sources cited here (The Indian Express, 2024).
What historical evidence survives?
The IPN says its archive received a unique collection of documents from the Circle of Poles in India 1942–1948. It includes photographs, magazines, scout chronicles, correspondence, and an original list of approximately 5,000 names (IPN archive account). These records offer a documentary basis for studying the communities alongside film descriptions and later journalism.
The IPN’s English-language account of the commemoration reproduces the plaque’s words: “India offered help” (IPN commemoration). The institute also describes the illustrated album From the “Inhuman Land” to the Land of the Maharajas: Polish Refugees from the USSR in India, 1942–1948 (IPN album description).
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