Former Union Minister and a war hero of 1965, Captain Ayub Khan, died at Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan on Thursday following a massive cardiac arrest. He was 85. He was rushed to B.D.K. Government Hospital in Jhunjhunu when he complained of uneasiness, but was declared brought dead.
Recipient of Vir Chakra for his acts of valour during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, Capt. Ayub Khan was elected twice to the Lok Sabha, first in 1984 and later in 1991. He served as the Union Minister of State for Agriculture in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government.
In the 1965 war, Capt. Ayub Khan along with his men destroyed four Pakistani Patton tanks and captured one tank in the Sialkot sector of J&K.
He came from a Kayamkhani Muslim family of soldiers belonging to the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan.
According to the family sources, his body will be buried at his native village Nuah in Jhunjhunu district, 153 km from Jaipur, on Friday.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot condoled the death of Capt. Ayub Khan, saying his services — first as a brave soldier and later as an elected representative — would always be remembered. He had shown an exemplary courage in the 1965 war and later served the people with dedication, said Mr. Gehlot.
Interestingly, Capt. Ayub Khan shared his name with the Pakistan President, Gen. Ayub Khan, who ordered the invasion of India in 1965. After Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri remarked at the investiture ceremony that India was proud of its own Ayub Khan, the soldier was called “Indian Ayub” by the media.
