Jimmy Carter, the former US President who passed away at 100 on Sunday, had a special bond with India. A village in Haryana, named ‘Carterpuri’ in his honor, is a testament to this connection.
In 1978, on January 3, President Carter, along with First Lady Rosalynn Carter, visited Daulatpur Nasirabad, a village located about an hour from Delhi. The visit was so meaningful that the locals renamed the village ‘Carterpuri’ to honor him, and they continued to keep in touch with the White House throughout his presidency. Since then, January 3 has been celebrated as a local holiday in Carterpuri.
When Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, the villagers held grand celebrations in his honor.
His visit occurred just after the Emergency was lifted in India and the Janata Party came to power. During his time in India, Carter addressed the Indian Parliament, condemning authoritarianism and advocating for democratic values. He said, “For the remainder of this century and into the next, the democratic countries of the world will increasingly turn to each other for answers to our most pressing, common challenge: how our political and spiritual values can provide the basis for dealing with the social and economic strains to which they will unquestionably be subjected.”
Carter also had a personal connection with India as his mother, Lillian Carter, worked as a Peace Corps health volunteer in the country during the late 1960s.
