Dr Fiaz Maqbool Fazili
Public awards carry a special dignity. They tell society that a person’s work, service, creativity, scholarship, tenure or leadership deserves to be noticed. Yet every announcement also creates a natural curiosity: how was the recipient identified, and what qualities made the selection committee feel that this individual was especially deserving? A further question quietly follows: are all who work meritoriously and provide outstanding examples duly felicitated, or does recognition inevitably depend on a process of choosing some while leaving many others unseen?
This is neither a criticism of nomination’s made nor a complaint against any recipient. Many people work quietly for years, often in local communities or specialised fields, and may remain unknown outside their immediate circles. An award can rightly bring such valuable work to wider attention. The curiosity is simply whether the honour recognises a contribution that has already matured, or whether the honour itself becomes the main source of the recipient’s public identity.
Visibility and merit are not the same. A highly deserving person may have little publicity, while a familiar name may not always have the strongest record. That is why a brief, clear explanation of the selection can be helpful. It allows the public to understand the recipient’s journey, the duration of the work, the people or institutions benefited, and the evidence of lasting impact.
Useful questions might include: Was the nomination open or limited? Were written criteria announced in advance? Did independent experts review the work? Were conflicts of interest declared? Were candidates compared on the same standards? These questions do not diminish an award; they can strengthen it by showing that recognition rests on a thoughtful and fair process.
Transparency Builds Confidence
In many societies I lived, the Arabian people occasionally use words such as “waasta,” recommendation, access, or influence when discussing honours. Such words may arise even when no favour has actually occurred. Often, uncertainty grows simply because the public cannot see how nominations were received, evaluated, shortlisted, and approved.
Openness protects everyone. It protects the institution from unnecessary suspicion, the recipient from unfair assumptions, and other deserving candidates from feeling that their efforts were invisible. Even a short public note describing the eligibility rules, assessment method, and reasons for selection can create confidence without revealing private deliberations.
Award systems also teach Gen Z ,younger generations what society values. When the connection between contribution and recognition is easy to understand, students, professionals, artists, writers, and volunteers gain a meaningful example to follow. The honour then becomes more than a ceremony: it becomes a public lesson in excellence, patience, and service.
How Is a Chief Guest or Guest of Honour Selected? The same curiosity arises when an institution announces a chief guest or guest of honour.
Illustrative examples—not actual events—can be used as metaphors to make the message clearer and more impactful: Imagine a medical professional addressing a postgraduate thesis forum at SKUAST—not to teach medicine, but to demonstrate how a clinical mindset can help shape rigorous, high-impact research in agriculture. Likewise, at an engineering institute, the same perspective could challenge students to look beyond disciplinary boundaries and see the value of interdisciplinary science. In another hypothetical setting, an unusual academic confluence, SKIMS brings together its DM/MCh super specialty cohort listening to an environmentalist’s eye for systemic health and a bureaucrat’s hand for institutional memory—reminding the next generation of super-specialists that the best medicine sits at the intersection of nature, policy, and precision.The person invited to occupy a place of distinction on the stage becomes, for that occasion, a visible symbol of the values the organisers wish to celebrate. The choice therefore invites a simple and respectful question: what made this individual especially suitable for this event?
Official Events and State Protocol;
For a government department, understanding the selection is often shaped by a prewritten protocol, the status of the occasion, administrative approval, security requirements, and the official order of precedence. State hospitality or protocol rules may identify dignitaries who are entitled to treatment as state guests. Separate instructions may govern invitations, reception, seating on the dais, the order of speeches, and the ceremonial position of the chief guest and guest of honour.
There is no single universal rule for every state department or every type of programme. The applicable government order, departmental manual, protocol circular, or approval process may differ from one jurisdiction to another. However, official organisers are generally expected to consider the purpose of the function, the relevance and rank of the invitee, established precedence, public expenditure, accessibility, safety, and whether the invitation is consistent with government policy.
Non-Government Events: No Hard-and-Fast Rule:
In a private institution, association, school, university, cultural body, or voluntary organisation, there may be no binding government protocol. The organisers usually possess greater freedom. Yet freedom does not remove responsibility. A thoughtful choice should still connect the guest’s life and work with the theme of the event and the interests of the audience.
Sometimes one wonders, in the familiar spirit of “what sells is what becomes the winner,” whether visibility, office, personal familiarity, or public popularity carries more weight than relevance and merit. That curiosity need not become an accusation. It can instead encourage organisers to explain their reasoning and to look beyond the most familiar names.
If asked, to lay down some criteria, I could summarise some questions that can guide a fair choice; Relevance: Does the person’s field of work relate meaningfully to the occasion? Merit: Is there a credible and sustained record of service, achievement, scholarship, creativity, or leadership? Public value: Can the guest’s presence or message educate, encourage, or inspire the audience? Integrity: Is the choice likely to strengthen trust in the institution? Representation: Have deserving but less visible contributors also been considered? Practicality: Are availability, cost, security, accessibility, protocol, and time responsibly managed? Transparency: Can the organisers briefly state why the guest was selected?
The roles themselves should also be clear. The chief guest generally holds the principal ceremonial place and may inaugurate the programme or deliver its main address. A guest of honour is recognised for a special contribution or connection and usually supports the occasion in a distinguished but secondary role. Clear invitations, introductions, and seating arrangements help preserve the dignity of both roles.
Recognising Our Medical Icons
Prof.MM name obscured is one of Kashmir’s most loved and respected mental health expert . His healing touch has reached countless families. Down-to-earth, compassionate and always accessible, he truly represents the nobility of the medical profession.While looking at past award recipients, I wondered: why should such unsung icons not be recognised?I briefly considered a quiet People’s Choice campaign—perhaps collecting 10,000 public signatures to nominate him, without his knowledge. The idea, however, reached him sooner than I expected. He called me, thanked me humbly, and asked me to drop it, reminding me that his reward is with Allah.I respected his wish.
But the idea remains: why not introduce a People’s Choice nomination for medical awards? Let patients and the public nominate doctors whose service has genuinely touched lives.We should recognise the jewels in our crown while they are still with us.
The core message an honour should carry,whether it is a state award, an institutional honour, or a ceremonial invitation, the recognition should communicate a message of meritorious service. It should tell the public that patient effort, ethical conduct, meaningful contribution, and benefit to others are noticed. The individual honoured may receive a medal, citation, shawl, plaque, momento or distinguished seat, but the larger reward belongs to society when the choice presents a worthy example.
My curiosity, therefore, is not directed against any person. It is about the process and the purpose. Who considers the names? What guidelines are followed? What evidence of service is examined? How does the choice relate to the event? When institutions answer such questions, even briefly, awards become more credible, guests become more meaningful, and ceremonies become occasions that educate as well as celebrate.
The Author is a Surgeon at Mubarak hospital, Healthcare policy analyst, Certified Professional in Quality improvement in Hospitals can be reached at drfiazfazili@gmail.com
