ON AYUB KHAN'S DIARIES





It is impossible to be both a diarist and a statesman: each has a different focal length. One observes the minutiae of a day’s activities while the other views the broad sweep of contemporary history, leaving its chronicling to others. The most successful and famous diarists have been those who have stood on the periphery of their times, involved and therefore informed, yet detached and perceptive.


The 17th century produced Samuel Pepys and his contemporary John Evelyn, the twentieth century Harold Nicolson and Sir Henry ‘Chips’ Cannon, and more recently Alan Clark (a Conservative but maverick MP who held junior ministerial posts during Mrs Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s), and H. R. ‘Bob’ Haldeman (Nixon’s White House Chief of Staff). Their scribblings provide us with the telling details that history might not have otherwise noticed.


Those who make history such as royalty or presidents often feel a personal responsibility to maintain a record of it for reasons of state as much as for their own personal purposes. This was Queen Victoria’s motive, as it is Queen Elizabeth II’s, who maintains a hand-written journal meticulously at the end of each day. Presidents by contrast tend to subcontract such a task to their underlings.


An exception would seem to have been President Ayub Khan. His diaries have recently been published, covering the years 1966 to 1972 - from his decline in power to his descent from it. [EXTRACT]





[Published in DAWN 21 June 2007, titled: Ayub's Self-Serving Account.]