Came across this interview of ZA Bhutto by famous Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci.http://bhutto.org/Acrobat/interview-with-history.pdf )
The interview documents many historic events and Bhutto’s views about Shaikh Mujeeb, Yahya Khan and Indira Gandhi. The interview was just published before Bhutto’s meeting with Mrs Gandhi post 1971 for release of Pakistani soldiers. Due to harsh remarks given by Bhutto for Mrs Gandhi, Mrs Gandhi first denied to meet Mr Bhutto and Pakistani Government forced the journalist to disown the interview and clarify that it was something fictional.
Re: Bhutto - An interview with History
Bhutoo’s remarks about Indira Gandhi that made this interview more controversial. Its strange that he said that Mrs Gandhi’s got power because of being Nehru’s daughter. History says same is more true for his own daughter ‘Benazir Bhutto’.
Mrs. Bandaranaike, instead, got there by the simple fact of being Bandaranaike’s widow, and Mrs. Gandhi by the simple fact of being Nehru’s daughter. Without having Nehru’s light. With all her saris, the red spot on her forehead, her little smile, she’ll never succeed in impressing me.
She’s never impressed me, ever since the day I met her in London. We were both attending a lecture, and she was taking notes so insistently and pedantically that I said to her, “Are you taking notes or writing a thesis?” And speaking of theses, you know I can’t believe she succeeded in getting that degree in history at Oxford. I completed the threeyear course at Oxford in two years. And in three years she wasn’t able to finish the course.
O.F.: Aren’t you being a little excessive, a little unjust? Do you really think she could last so long if she wasn’t worth something? Or are you obliged to think she’s worth nothing because she’s a woman?
Z.A.B.: No, no. I have nothing against women as heads of state, though I don’t think women make better heads of state than men. My opinion of Mrs. Gandhi is
That’s how I’ve always seen her: a diligent drudge of a schoolgirl, a woman devoid of initiative and imagination. All right, she’s better today than when she was studying at Oxford or taking notes in London. Power has given her self-confidence and nothing succeeds like success. But it’s a question of success out of proportion to her merits; if India and Pakistan were to become confederated countries, I’d have no trouble in carrying off the post from Mrs. Gandhi. I’m not afraid of intellectual confrontations with her. Having said that, I’m ready to meet her when and where she likes. Even in New Delhi. Yes, I’m even ready to go to New Delhi, like Talleyrand after the Congress of Vienna. The only idea that bothers me is that of being escorted by an honor guard from the Indian army and physical contact with the lady her self. It irritates me. God! Don’t make me think of it. Tell me instead: what did Mrs. Gandhi say about me?