An Indian village named after President Jimmy Carter is paying tribute to the late commander-in-chief ahead of his funeral at the Washington National Cathedral on January 9th.
Carter died on Sunday at the age of 100. He served one term in the White House, between 1977 and 1981.
Carterpuri — “The Village of Carter” — is located about 20 miles outside Delhi. When Carter’s mother, Lillian, lived and worked there as a nurse for a short period in the 1960s, it was called Daulatpur Nasirabad.
“Villagers dressed his wife in traditional attire … He (Carter) also tried out a hookah,” resident Moti Ram said, according to Reuters, recalling the time Carter and his wife Rosalynn visited the village.
Preparations began months in advance of the January 3, 1978 visit, villagers told the ANI news agency. The village was improved, and welcome programs were held in the central square.
The residents chose to change the name of the village following the visit to honor the Carters. After hearing of Carter’s death, they paid tribute to the late president by garlanding a framed picture of him and placing flowers before it, Reuters noted, citing local media.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the U.S. ambassador to India, pointed to the village in a post on X.
“As President, he visited India in 1978 and began to build a new foundation for U.S.-Indian relations that helped pave the way to the deep and consequential friendship we now enjoy,” he wrote. “In Haryana, near Delhi, there is a town called Carterpuri that is testament to the high regard he was held here in India.”
Garcetti shared several images from the visit, including one of Rosalynn in traditional clothing.
Among the most important items in the village is a letter sent by Carter thanking the residents for making the visit “successful and so personally satisfying,” Reuters noted.
