Air Marshal Boparai, an eminent ophthalmologist who was awarded the B.C. Roy Award for for his contribution to orbital surgery in 1991, runs a charitable hospital in Gurgaon and is a consultant for Impact India Foundation which runs the Lifeline Express.

He, along with Air Marshal (Retd) A.S. Chahal, Bhai Mohan Singh of Ranbaxy India Ltd and noted mountaineer H.P.S. Ahluwalia, will be felicitated for their outstanding contribution to their respective fields on April 13 at Anandpur Sahib.

Air Marshal Chahal is a prominent orthopaedic surgeon and honorary director of the National Spinal Cord Injury Centre.

``I feel greatly honoured, though it came as a surprise to me. It holds great significance for us to be involved with the tercentenary of the Khalsa's birth. Guru Gobind Singh taught secularism and it particularly applies to doctors, because we do not make any distinctions while treating patients,'' said Air Marshal Boparai.

He added: ``Sikhism teaches one to positively contribute towards the well being of society which one can do through physical labour, application of mental energies and money. When I retired from AFMC, Pune, in 1993, a lot of offers to join prominent hospitals came my way. But I thought that it would be better if I contributed by running charitable institutions which can cater to the common man. That was my way of rendering help to the society, since I could not have done it with money alone''.