The Indian Panorama

Tag: Jimmy Carter

  • Biden and Trump lead tributes to ‘extraordinary’ Jimmy Carter after death

    Biden and Trump lead tributes to ‘extraordinary’ Jimmy Carter after death

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Joe Biden and Donald Trump have led tributes to former US President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter, who has died aged 100. Carter, who lived longer than any president in history, died on Sunday , December 29 afternoon at his home in Plains, Georgia.

    Biden described him as “a man of principle, faith and humility,” while Trump said all Americans owe Carter a “debt of gratitude”.

    Carter rose from a peanut farmer to become president in 1977, before being forced out of the White House after just one four-year term when Ronald Reagan stormed to victory in the next election.

    After leaving the White House with low approval ratings, his reputation was restored through humanitarian work which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

    “Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian,” President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement.

    “To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” they added.

    “He showed that we are great nation because we are a good people – decent and honorable, courageous and compassionate, humble and strong.”

    Biden announced that a national day of mourning would take place on 9 January, with Americans encouraged to visit places of worship to “pay homage” to the late president.

    He also ordered flags to be flown at half-mast at all public and military buildings for 30 days, a period which includes the inauguration of president-elect Trump.

    Watch: Joe Biden pays tribute to Jimmy Carter

    Trump posted on Truth Social: “The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.

    “For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

    Trump previously mocked Carter’s single term on the campaign trail ahead of his victory in this year’s presidential election, and said in 2019: “He’s a nice man. He was a terrible president.”

    This came after Carter called Trump an “illegitimate president”, claiming he was helped into the White House by Russian interference in the 2016 election, something Moscow and Trump deny.

    Obituary: From peanut farmer to one-term president and Nobel winner

    World leaders also paid tribute to Carter.

    King Charles III said “his dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many, and I remember with great fondness his visit to the United Kingdom in 1977”.

    UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Carter was “motivated by his strong faith and values” and that he “redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad”.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Carter “was a leader who served during a time when Ukraine was not yet independent, yet his heart stood firmly with us in our ongoing fight for freedom”.

    French President Emmanuel Macron said he had been a “steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace”. Before becoming president in 1977, Democrat Carter was governor of Georgia, a lieutenant in the US navy and a farmer.

    Carter’s presidency will be remembered for his struggles in dealing with acute economic problems and several foreign policy challenges, including the Iran hostage crisis, which ended with the deaths of eight Americans.

    There was, however, a notable foreign policy triumph in the Middle East when he helped broker an accord between Egypt and Israel, signed at Camp David in the US in 1978.

    But that seemed a distant memory two years later, when voters overwhelmingly chose Republican Ronald Reagan, who had portrayed the president as a weak leader unable to deal with inflation and interest rates at near record highs. Carter lost the 1980 election by a landslide, winning only six US states plus Washington DC.

    After leaving the White House, he became the first and only president to return full-time to the house he lived in before politics – a humble, two-bedroom ranch-style home.

    He chose not to pursue the lucrative after-dinner speeches and publishing deals awaiting most former presidents, telling the Washington Post in 2018, that he never really wanted to be rich.

    Instead, he spent his remaining years trying to address global problems of inequality and disease.

    He founded the Carter Center in 1982 to pursue his vision of world diplomacy, and received the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts with the foundation to promote human rights around the world.

    He also teamed up with Nelson Mandela to found The Elders, a group of global leaders who committed themselves to work on peace and human rights. Getty Images Jimmy Carter holds up his Nobel Peace Prize Oslo, Norway, in 2002.Getty Images
    Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002
    Carter is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife, Rosalynn, who he was married to for 77 years, died in November 2023. Announcing his death, Carter’s son Chip said his father was “a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love”.

    “My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together.”

    Since 2018 and the death of George HW Bush, Carter was the oldest surviving US president.

    Carter stopped medical treatment for an undisclosed illness last year and instead began receiving hospice care at his home. He had suffered from health issues including a melanoma that spread to his liver and brain.

    Another leading tribute came from Barack Obama, who reflected on spending time with Carter, saying that “he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service”.

    Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where Carter taught Sunday school well into his 90s, “will be a little quieter on Sundays”, Obama said. “But President Carter will never be far away – buried alongside Rosalynn next to a willow tree down the road, his memory calling all of us to heed our better angels.”

    Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also spoke of Carter’s faith.

    “President Carter lived to serve others – until the very end,” they said in a statement.
    (Source: BBC)

  • The Indian Panorama is grateful to Dr. V.K. Raju and the Eye Foundation of America for their work and support

    • By I.S. Saluja

    The Indian Panorama is grateful to Dr. V.K. Raju, President of the Eye Foundation of America and the board of directors of the Eye Foundation of America for their noble humanitarian work and great support to the publication. Their collaboration in publishing the special edition to pay tribute to Martyrs of India on the Martyrs Day is worth appreciation and deserves our gratitude.

    We take this opportunity to briefly introduce the eminent eye surgeon and a great philanthropist and his  team  dedicated to creating a world without childhood blindness.

    Dr. V.K. Raju

    VK Raju, MD, FRCS, FACS

    Ellis Island Award Nominee 2019

    Ophthalmologist, Regional Eye Associates

    President and Founder, Eye Foundation of America

    President and Founder, Goutami Eye Institute

    Clinical Professor, West Virginia University

    Director, International Ocular Surface Society

    Adjunct Professor, GSL Medical School

    Adjunct Professor, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University

    Author: Musings on Medicine, Myth, and History-India’s Legacy

    Dr. VK Raju received his medical degree from Andhra University, India and Residency and Fellowship in UK. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American college of Surgeons.

    V.K.Raju, MD, FRCS, FACS is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at West Virginia University, WV, USA, and practicing ophthalmologist at Regional Eye in Morgantown, WV, USA. In 1977, work began on what is now known as the Eye Foundation of America. With Dr. Raju’s guidance, the Eye Foundation of America’s work has grown. To date, the Eye Foundation of America has performed over 4 million vision screenings in rural areas of over 30 countries across the world, the latest being Guatemala in November, 2023.  Through the Eye Foundation of America, over 400,000 sight-saving surgeries have been performed at no cost. Over 800 medical professionals, including many residents and ophthalmologists, have been trained to identify and treat eye diseases.

    Dr. Raju remains highly involved as the Founder and President of the Eye Foundation of America to this day, returning to India every few months to participate in educational programs, vision screening camps, and surgeries.

    New green Goutami Eye Institute under construction

    His insatiable drive to improve the lives of others has also resulted in the recent culmination of another lifelong goal. The construction of another eye hospital is underway with wings devoted to specialties including ocular oncology, pediatric ophthalmology, and the retinopathy of prematurity, a disease effecting premature babies.

    Dr. V.K. Raju with President Jimmy Carter

    Dr. VK Raju has received awards from American Academy of Ophthalmology four times for his teaching, research and international service. A partial list of awards include Doctor Nathan Davis International award of Excellence in Medicine by American Medical Association Foundation, Lifetime Achievement Award from WV State Medical Association, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama, Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman award for Achievement in Medicine, House of Lords, London. He also received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Achievement Award from West Virginia University. He was also inducted into Medical Missions Hall of Fame by University of Toledo and Medscape placed him among the best doctors in America. Recently, he was awarded The Indian Panorama Lifetime Achievement Honor by  Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, India’s  Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

    Dr. Raju receiving The Indian Panorama Lifetime Achievement Honor from Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

    For over 40 years, Dr. Raju has dedicated himself to eliminating avoidable blindness in children and adults through outreach programs, surgeries, and educational efforts. V. K. Raju has published over 100 scientific articles, 17 book chapters, and 2 books. Still, he will tell you, “My work is only the beginning.” Only this morning, Dr. Raju shared with me two quotes. Now these quotes are a pointer to his mind.

    “Of all the senses vision is the most precious.”

    ( SARVENDRIYANAM NAYANAM PRADHANAM- in Sanskrit.

    80% of our learning is through vision.

    Join us in giving a gift of vision “

    Another now.

    “There is nothing new under the sun.”

    In this world, nothing is more important than children’s nutrition and education. If we give them nutrition and education, they will take care of themselves.

    Since 1977, Eye foundation of America is striving to do just that.

    “Be part of that effort”.

    He often speaks about the colossal work which needs to be done to prevent childhood blindness. He is passionate about his vision of a world without childhood blindness.

    Luckily for him, he says, he has been blessed with a wonderful team who are always there to share his vision and work for its realization. Let me introduce the readers of The Indian panorama to this great team.

    The Eye Foundation of America Board of Directors.

    We have no doubt that the vision of Dr. Raju to have a world without childhood blindness will be realized. If human effort could create a world without polio, why can’t the world be free from childhood blindness?

    We wish you, Dr. Raju and your dedicated team all success.

  • With Today’s Technology, Eliminating Childhood Blindness is not too Ambitious: Dr V.K. Raju

    By Indrajit Singh Saluja 
    The Indian Panorama is conferring Life Achievement Honor on the world-renowned eye surgeon and humanitarian Dr V.K. Raju. In the run-up to the Gratitude Gala of  the weekly paper, he gave an exclusive interview to Prof Indrajit Singh Saluja, its Chief Editor and Publisher. Excerpts:

    Indrajit Saluja, Chief Editor, The Indian Panorama: Rotary International secured a world without polio. Now you and your Eye Foundation of America are working to eliminate needless childhood blindness in the world. But isn’t it an ambitious mission?

    Dr V.K. Raju:  With today’s technology and resources, it is not ambitious. Let me tell you why I have chosen to focus on childhood blindness. Let’s say a 67-year-old becomes blind. He or she has only a few years to live. But if a child becomes blind, he lives for seven decades without vision. We can catch them early and treat them and make them productive members of society for decades.

    As per the World Bank, 80% of our learning is through vision. Nelson Mandela said education is the greatest equalizer. But for want of a pair of glasses, which costs Rs 200-300 in India, the kids’ learning is affected and they become a burden to themselves, the family, and society as a whole.

    Malnutrition is said to be one of the causes of childhood blindness in developing countries.  

    Dr Raju: On this front, India has done incredibly well in the last 30-40  years. But still, overall nutrition is not good among rural people of low socio-economic strata, especially children. So, if you want to see a world without childhood blindness, first you have to tell the governments in the world to provide proper nutrition to children.

    What inspired you to start the Eye Foundation of America?

    Dr Raju: I was working in London and went to India for a holiday. A farmer came to show me his eyes. I did not have any equipment then. So, in 1977, I held my first eye camp in Vijayawada. After seeing so many children born with congenital cataracts, next year I took along a surgical instrument (Ocutome), but faced problems with the customs. On advice of friends, we started Eye Foundation of America for credibility.

    India gave me a stellar medical education almost for free and paying back like this is no big deal. We are fortunate to do this work.

    Each award and honor, Dr Raju says, means more opportunity to do even more work and serve people.

    Being a Rotarian, do you think you can bring Rotary International to support your mission?

    Dr Raju: They already are great supporters of my foundation and our hospitals in Andhra Pradesh. More and more people and Rotary clubs would join in South India and in Vijayawada where I work year after year. Leadership and cooperation are the road to success, as President Jimmy Carter said in his book ‘Global Health’ and whom I have fortunately met.

    Tell us about your Goutami eye hospital.

    Dr Raju:  Goutami is in Rajahmundry district in Andhra Pradesh. It is the flagship of the Eye Foundation of America with about 14 peripheral centers. Outreach is very important in India, where 65% of people still live in villages.  Goutami has a wing exclusively for children. At Goutami, we never turn down a patient. Our model is, we see 60% of the patients  almost for free or subsidized and 40% are paying patients. 

    Besides India, which other countries have you gone in?

    Dr Raju: We have worked in 30 countries, most recently in Guatemala. In some places we supply educational material, in some, we do clinical work, in still others we support their programs as in Ghana. This year-end we are going to South Africa.

    Guatemala is the 30th country to which Dr Raju has spread his work. His visits there were facilitated by India’s Consul General to the country, Manoj Kumar Mohapatra (extreme right in group photo) and Prof Indrajit Saluja.

    What led you to Guatemala?

    Dr Raju: Prof Saluja, you are the one who made that project happen through the Indian Consul General there, Amb. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra. You were there when we screened the patients in Guatemala City. We went back with another colleague of mine last November and performed eye surgeries. Amb. Mohapatra was very helpful.

    I saw you examine 500 people at five locations in Guatemala. How many screenings and surgeries EFA has done so far?

    Dr Raju: Almost 4 million people have been screened as outpatients in the peripheral hospitals and clinics and at least 350,000 operations have been done already.

    For this colossal work, how are you able to manage funds?

    Dr Raju: For the first 16 years, our Foundation did not have a fundraiser. Now we do. Last year we raised $800,000. Here I must tell the story of Srinu Maddula. I brought him here from Vijayawada for a corneal transplant about 35 years ago when he was a toddler. He went on to finish his doctorate in pharmacy from Rutgers. Now he feels that what the eye foundation did for him, he should do more for it.

    For community service projects, help comes unexpectedly. You introduced me to Blitz India editor Deepak Dwivedi and Sandeepp Saxena and they introduced me to Lord Swaraj Paul and Lord Loomba in England. I was honored at the House of Lords, and we set up a chapter of our foundation there. 

    What are the main causes of blindness?

    Dr Raju: The most common visual problem is cataract, which is clouding of the lens of the eye. Cataract is not a disease. It can develop with age. Left untreated, cataract leads to blindness. Today very easy and successful surgeries are available to remove cataracts. You don’t need to stay in the hospital, you go home the same day.

    The other eye problem is glaucoma. It is caused by high eye pressure damaging the nerve connecting the eye to the brain. So, one should get checked for glaucoma every two years after the age of 40.

    With diabetes, if you get regular eye exams, you won’t lose sight.

    What is your advice to my readers about keeping eyes in good condition?

    Dr Raju: If your general health is good, your eye health will be good too. So, eat right, exercise, and do everything in moderation. Protect the eyes with sunglasses when you spend a lot of time outdoors. Cataract development, if at all, will be slow then.

     Is your daughter Dr. Leela Raju, your natural successor?

    Dr Raju: Absolutely. She is very much part of the foundation work and capable of running the show once I’m gone.

    Dr Leela Raju, also an ophthalmologist, accepted the award last year from AIA (Association of Indians in America), NY chapter, on behalf of her father. She is fully invested in his work.

    You have been conferred so many awards and honors, now another one by The Indian Panorama, how do you feel?

    Dr Raju:  Each honor means more opportunity to continue and do even more work and serve people. Yet, as we say in the Indian ethos, I am only nimitta matra (a medium) for whatever good I am able to do.

    Dr Raju learnt from President Jimmy Carter that leadership and cooperation are the road to success. He has also interacted with US Senator Joe Manchin from his state, West Virginia.
  • Indian American Professor Dr. Ponisseril Somasundaran elected chair of Hoover Board of AwardIndian American Professor Dr. Ponisseril Somasundaran elected chair of Hoover Board of Award

    Indian American Professor Dr. Ponisseril Somasundaran elected chair of Hoover Board of AwardIndian American Professor Dr. Ponisseril Somasundaran elected chair of Hoover Board of Award

    NEW YORK (TIP): Dr. Ponisseril Somasundaran, an Indian American professor of engineering at Columbia University, has been elected Chair of the Hoover Board of Award commemorating the civic and humanitarian achievements of engineers. Named in honor of Herbert Hoover, who led the effort to feed millions of Belgian and French refugees during World War I, the award recognizes great, unselfish, non-technical services by engineers to humanity. Past recipients have included former Indian president A P J Abdul Kalam, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, former US presidents Jimmy Carter and Dwight Eisenhower, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Lillian Gilbreth, considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist, according to a press release.

    The board consists of representatives from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers; American Society of Civil Engineers; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Somasundaran is the La von Duddleson Krumb Professor of Mineral Engineering and Director of the Langmuir Center for Colloids and Interfaces at Columbia University. His research has been concerned with a wide spectrum of environmental problems including Greener Chemistry, pollution control and remediation, controlled release in personal care, sludge treatment, wastewater treatment, and nanotoxicity and decontamination of viruses to control Coronavirus.

    Somasundaran received his MS and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. After five years with the International Minerals and Chemical Corporation and Reynolds Industries, he joined the Columbia University faculty.

    He was inducted in 1985 into the National Academy of Engineering, among the highest professional distinctions that can be conferred to an engineer and later to the National Academy of Inventors, Chinese National Academy of Engineering, the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the Balkan Academy of Mineral Technology Sciences. More recently he was the sole foreign fellow elected to the Royal Society of Canada. He was awarded the “Ellis Island Medal of Honor” in 1990. In March 2010, he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s top civilian honors. Somasundaran was appointed to the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) US EPA in 2014 and chair of its chemical safety and sustainability committee as well as the hazardous risk committee and reappointed to the board in December 2017.

    He was appointed as an honorary professor at the Central University of Technology of China, an honorary research advisor at the Beijing Research Institute of Mining & Metallurgy, Beijing, visiting professor/scientist at the University of Melbourne and at the Indian Institute of Science. He is the author/editor of 15 books and of over 700 scientific publications and patents and editor of Encyclopedia of Surface & Colloid Science and the honorary editor-in-chief of the international journal Colloids and Surfaces. Somasundaran has served on many professional committees including National Research Council Panels, National Science Foundation, Department of Interior, Department of Energy, National Institute of Dental Research and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Advisory panels.

    He was the Chairman of the Board of the Engineering Foundation (1993-95).

  • History This Week-March 25 to March 31

    “If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”  – MICHAEL CRICHTON

    March 25

    March 25, 1807 – The British Parliament abolished the slave trade following a long campaign against it by Quakers and others.

    March 25, 1911 – A raging fire erupted inside a garment factory in New York City killing 123 young women employed as low-paid seamstresses, along with 23 men. The fast-spreading flames engulfed the 8th and 9th floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in lower Manhattan in just a few minutes. About 50 of the victims had jumped to their deaths rather than perish from the flames. The sensational tragedy spurred national interest concerning the rights of mostly-immigrant women workers of the New York garment industry who labored long hours six or seven days a week in cramped, dangerous conditions for about $5 weekly pay.

    March 26

    Camp David accord. Left to Right:Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel, US President Jimmy Carter, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat

    March 26, 1979 – The Camp David Accord ended 30 years of warfare between Israel and Egypt. Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the treaty of mutual recognition and peace, fostered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

    Serge Krikalev

    March 26, 1992 – Soviet Cosmonaut Serge Krikalev returned to a new country (Russia) after spending 313 days on board the Mir Space Station. During his stay in space, the Soviet Union (USSR) collapsed and became the Commonwealth of Independent States.

    Tennessee Williams

    Birthday – American playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) was born in Columbus, Mississippi. His works featured Southern settings and include The Glass Menagerie, Night of the Iguana, and two Pulitzer Prize winning plays, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof .

    March 27

    March 27, 1977 – The worst accident in the history of civil aviation occurred as two Boeing 747 jets collided on the ground in the Canary Islands, resulting in 570 deaths.

    March 28

    March 28, 1979 – Near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident occurred in which uranium in the reactor core overheated due to the failure of a cooling valve. A pressure relief valve then stuck causing the water level to plummet, threatening a catastrophic nuclear meltdown. The accident resulted in the release of radioactive steam into the atmosphere and created a storm of controversy over the necessity and safety of nuclear power plants.

    March 29

    March 29, 1979 – In the U.S. Congress, the House Select Committee on Assassinations released its final report regarding the killings of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy.

    John Tyler

    Birthday – John Tyler (1790-1862) the 10th U.S. President was born in Charles City County, Virginia. He became president upon the death of William H. Harrison and served from 1841 to 1845. In 1861, Tyler was elected to the Confederate Congress, but died before being seated.

    March 30

    Ronald Reagan

    March 30, 1981 – Newly elected President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest while walking toward his limousine in Washington, D.C., following a speech inside a hotel. The president was then rushed into surgery to remove a 22-caliber bullet from his left lung. “I should have ducked,” Reagan joked. Three others were also hit including Reagan’s Press Secretary, James Brady, who was shot in the forehead but survived. The president soon recovered from the surgery and returned to his duties.

    Vincent Van Gogh

    Birthday – Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Groot Zundert, Holland. He was a Postimpressionist painter, generally considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt. During his short (10-year) painting career he produced over 800 oil paintings and 700 drawings but sold only one during his lifetime. In 1987, the sale of his painting Irises brought $53.9 million, the highest price ever paid for a work of art up to that time. During his life, Van Gogh suffered from despair and bouts of mental illness, at one point cutting off part of his own left ear. He committed suicide in 1890 by gunshot.

    March 31

    March 31, 1933 – The Civilian Conservation Corps, the CCC, was founded. Unemployed men and youths were organized into quasi-military formations and worked outdoors in national parks and forests.

    Lyndon Johnson

    March 31, 1968 – President Lyndon Johnson made a surprise announcement that he would not seek re-election as a result of the Vietnam conflict.

    March 31, 1991 – The Soviet Republic of Georgia, birthplace of Josef Stalin, voted to declare its independence from Soviet Russia, after similar votes by Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Following the vote in Georgia, Russian troops were dispatched from Moscow under a state of emergency.

    Franz Joseph Haydn

    Birthday – Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was born in Rohrau, Austria. Considered the father of the symphony and the string quartet, his works include 107 symphonies, 50 divertimenti, 84 string quartets, 58 piano sonatas, and 13 masses. Based in Vienna, Mozart was his friend and Beethoven was a pupil.

    Jack Johnson

    Birthday – Boxing champion Jack Johnson (1878-1946) was born in Galveston, Texas. He was the first African American to win the heavyweight boxing title.