Carterpuri in Gurgaon mourns the death of former US President Jimmy Carter

In bidding goodbye to Carter, who died at the age of 100 on Sunday, they remembered the man who gave their nondescript village more than just a sliver of international fame — its moniker, Carterpuri Village.

Yadav said his grandfather was the Lambardar of Daulatpur Nasirabad, which was renamed Carterpuri Village in honour of the 39th US President’s visit over four decades ago. “My grandfather had welcomed Carter to the village during his visit on January 3, 1978,” he said.

Though Carter was the third US President to visit India, he holds a soft spot in the hearts of the residents of Carterpuri Village for his visit in 1978.

Former US President Jimmy Carter during his visit in 1978. (Express Archive)

“In the late 1960s, his mother spent a few months in the village doing social work as a member of the United States Peace Corps. During the official visit in January 1978, Carter and his family visited the village purely due to nostalgia. He donated some funds as well as a television set. After his visit, the Haryana government decided to rename the village in honour of President Carter’s family,” said Major Atul Dev, former INTACH Convenor, Gurgaon Chapter.

Mahipal Singh, 50, who owns a cable business, said Carter’s mother did a lot of humanitarian work in the area. “At that time, diseases like malaria and chickenpox were spreading like an epidemic,” he said.

The memory of Carter’s visit to the village remains clear in many minds.

“The security arrangements started months before his visit. We, too, started making arrangements for his arrival in advance. On the day of his arrival, the village was decorated like a bride. We invited residents from nearby villages too. The village looked like a village of tents,” recalled Ramesh Chand, 71, who owns a grocery store that overlooks the chaupal (community public place) where Carter was welcomed.

“There were so many policemen and Army jawans the day Carter visited our village. We were blown away by it all. He was accompanied by Prime Minister Morarji Desai and Haryana Chief Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal. We made Carter wear a pagdi (turban) and dressed his wife (Rosalynn) in traditional clothes,” he said.

Back then, residents said, the village had just one pucca house. After the Carters were welcomed at the chaupal, they were taken to this house, said Attar Singh, 70, a business owner. “There, Morarji Desai told us that they wished to rename the village as Carterpuri. He asked if we had any objections. Of course, we didn’t,” he said.

According to Attar Singh, Carter asked the residents if he could adopt the village and redevelop it. “Before any of us could answer, Desai interrupted him and said, ‘No, we will take that responsibility’… We don’t know if any funds came for the development of the village after that. All we know is that the village has remained the same,” he said.

Calling Carter “quite polite”, Ramesh Chand said: “I remember him asking all of us how we were doing. I remember him entering the house of an old woman and eating the food she had cooked for them. I think he liked the roti and chana saag she had made for him that day.”

Later, Carter and his wife Rosalynn would send letters to the village, thanking the residents for their hospitality and warmth. “…It was without a doubt one of the high points of my entire foreign travel and represented an experience I shall not soon forget. What I saw and heard from you, and your friends and neighbours, strengthened my conviction that regardless, all men and women share an aspiration for freedom, dignity and a desire to improve our children’s lives…” President Carter’s letter, dated January 24, 1978, read.

Ramesh Chand recalled celebrating “Carter Day” for five years after the former US President’s visit. “We would decorate the chaupal and sing songs…just have a bit of fun,” he said.

When Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, the village erupted in celebration.

However, Attar Singh is visibly bitter over the lack of development in the village. Despite extensive press coverage and promises, the residents claim that not much has changed since Carter’s visit.

While archival footage shows the then-US President walking into the village, surrounded by fields, Carterpuri today is a labyrinth of gullies. The fields on the outskirts have been replaced by shiny three-storeyed houses, but the garbage piles, stray dogs running amok and cattle parked on the streets — much like the ones seen in the archival footage — have remained constant.

“Jisko paisa banana tha, unnhone bana liya (Those who wanted to make money, made it). After that, everything around us developed. We were attached to a sector (in Gurugram). All the land nearby got sold and these huge buildings came up,” said Sujan Singh, 83.

Pointing to the glitzy three-storey houses on the outskirts of the village, he said, “But our village remained the same. The garbage dumps stayed, as did the roads full of potholes. Just look around — nothing changed.”

Responding to the allegations by the residents, an official from the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon told The Indian Express: “We have not received any complaints from the residents of Carterpuri. If they come to us and explain the problems they face, we’ll work on them whole-heartedly.”