Carterland yearns for Obamas touch

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New Delhi: As India prepares to welcome US President Barack Obama on Republic day, a sense of disappointment surrounds the residents of Carterpuri—named after erstwhile US President Jimmy Carter—a small hamlet minutes away from the national capital in the Gurgaon district of Haryana.

While Obama is likely to be busy with high-profile visits and engagements during his India trip, the people of Daulatpur, Nasirabad, still remember their time spent with the then US President Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter had decided to drop into the village because his mother, while working as a nurse in the Second World War, used to reside in Carterpuri. Because of this reason, Carter even decided to adopt the village and look after it but the request was declined by the then Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who promised Carter that he would look after and develop the village in the memory of Carter’s mother.

Recalling the moments of Carter’s 45 minute visit, Ram Kishan Yadav, an elderly resident told NewsMobile, “The US President came here with his wife Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter on January 3, 1978. When he came to our village, he roamed through the lanes and by-lanes of the village. He saw our cattle’s, and his wife Roselyn mingled with the women folk freely, and even wore the Haryanvi dress.”

Rampat Yadav, another villager told News Mobile: “The focus of their attention was the haveli of Jaildar Mohammad Farz, where Jimmy Carter’s mother had spent some time before Partition.”

“After Carter’s visit the panchayat decided to change our village name from Chuma Kheragaon to Carterpuri,” Rampat further added. 

Many believe Carter visited the village as his mother, Bessie Lillian, frequently came to Daulatpur, Nasirabad, during the Second World War while working as a nurse.

But the villagers have not had their promises met. Fauji Krishna Yadav shared his grievance with NewsMobile saying, “First reason of our disappointment is that no development has been carried out in our village in the last 37 years even after the then Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai promised to develop it by declining the wish of US President Jimmy Carter. Our Government didn’t keep the promise of development and betrayed us.

“However, after the visit of US President the boulders to construct a wide road were put in the village but it never got constructed and till date there is no proper road in our village,” another villager Prem Yadav said regretfully.

Fauji Krishan Yadav further said, “A railway station was also named on the name of US President Carterpuri Halt near Palam Vihar but that too has been closed 20 years ago just few months after its announcement.”

Discussing the village holiday on January 3 and former US President birthday celebration, Prem Yadav said, “Now we don’t celebrate Carter’s birthday anymore as our hopes were shattered and there is no holiday on January 3.”

The villagers now don’t have any excitement for a US President’s visit to India. 

Commenting on the US President’s visit to India and their hopes from him, Ram Swarup Yadav said, “Obama is coming to India again but we have no expectation from him. He has his prior commitments and programmes fixed and we are aware that he is going to visit Agra. If Jimmy would have been alive then we were hopeful.”

In 1978, the village had suddenly found itself in media glare after the Jimmy Carter expressed his desire to spend some time in the village where his mother had once worked as a social worker.

Obama’s trip to India from January 25-27 will be the seventh by a US president since Dwight D Eisenhower became the first to come, visiting more than 55 years ago. Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush were the other US presidents, in that order, to visit the country. 

 

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