[Reader-list] Of Field Marshal Ayub Khan

[anupam chakravartty]

Dear readers,

Here's a link to a review written by Mr A.G. Noorani for the book titled
"Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan: A Selection of Talks and Interviews."

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20100702271308100.htm

Ayub's memoirs reveal that he accurately perceived Nehru's disdain for a
“military man”. He wrote: “I did not get the impression that Pandit Nehru
was extraordinarily pleased to see me, but he was quite moved by some of the
suggestions I made to him. He struck me as a tired man, though he still had
a reserve of fight and political acumen. I missed the idealism or
starry-eyed thinking which is often attributed to him. I told him I
considered that relations between India and Pakistan had been dictated by
drift rather than by any rational design. …I felt it was not too late to
formulate a plan to put our relationship on a rational and sensible basis….

“I then raised with him the Kashmir problem. I put it to him that it was the
people of Kashmir who should have the decisive say in the matter. It was
vital that a solution satisfactory from the point of view of the people of
Jammu and Kashmir be found. Mr Nehru did not disagree with my ideas but
emphasised the need for the creation of a background of understanding
between the two countries and for eliminating, as a start, border incidents
and firing” ( Friends Not Masters, pages 123-124).

Thanks

Anupam