"Good character is more important than a great job": Parimal Suklabaidya

Forest and Environment, Excise and Fisheries minister, Government of Assam, Parimal Suklabadiya sent a strong message to all the parents and guardians of Barak Valley. At an era when human progress is determined by the marks obtained in examinations and money earned in jobs, the minister feels people are forgetting about shaping a good character.

Suklabaidya was delivering a keynote at an event in Banga Bhavan, Silchar. He said, “Good character is more important than a great job and we, the parents and guardians need to ensure that our kids are on the right path.”

Suklabaidya was of the opinion that kids learn from what they see while growing up, “My house is just a stone-throw-distance away from the University, I get to see and hear a lot of the things happening there. You go and see how the kids of the corrupt officials are causing a ruckus in the institution. They have never valued money in their life as they always had plenty. They do not have any principle as they have no one to teach that,” he added.

At another event yesterday, Suklabaidya urged people to turn waste to wealth by making proper use of it. “We can only do it if we manage to segregate the liquid and solid waste,” he said. Giving an example of his own mother he said, “She and the people of her generation used to stitch Katha (a type of blanket) with used and torn clothes and keep us warm. This idea of using torn clothes which is basically nothing but waste to create something productive is very important and must be encouraged. That will create jobs too,” he said.

The minister delivered his speech in Bangla and the English version is based on our own interpretation. Please note this are not his exact words but translated by our correspondent