On the occasion of the 69th Independence Day, President Mamnoon Hussain has conferred 156 civil awards on citizens of Pakistan as well as foreign nationals for showing excellence and courage in their respective fields in addition to their service to the country. The investiture ceremony for these awards will take place on Pakistan Day, March 23, 2016, said an official statement. There are always a few surprises in the list, a few shocking inclusions and a few unwanted omissions. One view, however, is that the announcement of national honours doesn’t quite generate the kind of excitement it once did. Without detracting from the merit of this year’s awardees, the state needs to find ways of reviving public interest in and respect for national awards. This is a tough ask given the state’s preoccupation with delegating what were its responsibilities, and in the process compromising its position as an authority which confers titles on prominent people. Tokenism must always be shunned by those looking to create honourable examples of service. In changed circumstances where state patronage is difficult to come by, the likelihood of a bestowment by a government being seen as a superficial, half-hearted attempt at promoting a cause increases manifold. In the Pakistani context, no better – or worse – example can be quoted than the one that involves the arts. Each year the various lists of national awardees include the names of professionals and each year the nomination is followed by a congratulatory line, a ‘but’ and a question: Great that the state has recognised the talent of those working as writers, painters, performing artists, etc, but what is it doing to promote the very disciplines these acknowledged greats have been working in? For an authority which is not yet prepared to forego its right to declare prizes, there must surely be a way to continue as a promoter of talent at large.
pk.shafaqna.com
