Ujjain man honoured by Obama in 2010 wants to return gifts

At the time when the entire nation is eagerly waiting for US President Barack Obama, an Ujjain man Ramdas Lodhi wants to meet him for a different reason.

At the time when the entire nation is eagerly waiting for US President Barack Obama, an Ujjain man Ramdas Lodhi wants to meet him for a different reason.

The-gold-coin-with-the-seal-of-the-US-President-and-the-scale-presented-to-Ramdas-and-his-family-by-Barack-Obama-during-his-last-visit-to-India-in-2010-HT-photo

Ramdas Lodhi, 45, a stone cutter was gifted the “Seal of the President” and a pen by US President Obama during his visit to India in 2010, acknowledging his and his son’s dedication to educating children.

Lodhi said he wants to meet President Obama and return the gifts.

Lodhi, who works at a construction site in Ujjain’s Ramghat, said a school the family started for slum children in Delhi’s Tughlakhabad area in 2207, was closed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) after Obama left Delhi.

On November 7, 2010, Obama invited Lodhi and his family in New Delhi and presented them a 25-karat gold ”Seal of the President” and a pen for their exceptional works in the field of educating poor children.

Lodhi, who hails from Karera village in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district had moved to the national capital in search of job and managed to educate his children.

After getting education, his eldest son Narendra decided to open school for slum children by setting up a tent on a footpath near Tughlakhabad.

Lodhi said the ASI had promised an alternative site for the school.

Four years on, the promise remains unfulfilled.