 "Why a village in Haryana was renamed after former US President Jimmy Carter")
A village in Haryana once known as the ‘Daulatpur Nasirabad’ was renamed as ‘Carterpuri’ after the 39th US President Jimmy Carter visited India in 1978. He was the third US leader who visited India. Carter passed away on Sunday at the age of 100. Carter was also the longest-lived president in US history.
Why is Haryana village renamed after Jimmy Carter?
According to the Carter Centre, Jimmy Carter along with Rosalynn Carter first travelled to the village, then ‘Daulatpur Nasirabad’ in 1978. The village is located at a distance of one hour from southwest of Delhi.
Interestingly, Carter had a personal connection with that village as his mother Lillian had worked there as a health volunteer with the Peace Corps during the late 1960s.
“The visit was so successful that shortly after, village residents renamed the area ‘Carterpuri’ and remained in contact with the White House for the rest of President Carter’s tenure. The trip made a lasting impression: Festivities abounded in the village when President Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, and January 3 remains a holiday in Carterpuri,” the Carter Centre said.
India-US strategic partnership on various domains
The Centre further said that since the Carter administration, the US and India have fostered close collaboration across various domains, including energy, humanitarian aid, technology, space exploration, maritime security, disaster relief, and counterterrorism. A pivotal moment came in the mid-2000s when the two nations forged a historic agreement to advance full civil nuclear cooperation, paving the way for a significant surge in bilateral trade.
Jimmy Carter’s address to the Indian Parliament in 1978
The former US President visited India a year after Emergency was lifted and the Janata Party came to power. During his visit, he addressed the Indian Parliament in which he spoke against authoritarianism, emphasising the need for democracy.
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Carter said, “For the rest 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.”
Former US President Jimmy Carter died at 100
Jimmy Carter, former US President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, died at 100. He had been in hospice care since February 2023, ending his days in Plains, Georgia, where he was born, grew up, and once operated a peanut farm before entering politics and becoming governor of the state.
The Carter Center released a statement saying, “Carter died peacefully at his home in Plains, surrounded by his family.”
Carter’s son Chip Carter told news agency AFP, “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who values peace, human rights, and selfless love.” President Joe Biden offered his condolences on Carter’s death and declared January 9 as a day of national mourning.