Tripura CM Manik Saha urges students to put humanity before marks

On a bright Sunday morning, Tripura’s chief minister Manik Saha stood before a sea of freshly‑minted Madhyamik and Higher Secondary graduates. He smiled, but his words weren’t just about scores or rank‑lists. “First, be a good human being,” he said, as if reminding everyone that a diploma is only paper without character.

He went on to praise the hard work of the students, their families and teachers – “Your results are a collective effort,” he noted. Yet he warned that a hostile environment can drown even the brightest minds. “When we looked back to the 1970s, school corridors felt like battlefields; slogans scrawled on walls, statues of Tagore and other icons vandalised. That wasn’t just noise – it stole focus from learning,” he recalled.

Saha didn’t shy away from politics. He blamed the former CPIM administration for allowing that chaos, saying their “different thinking” dismissed revered figures like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda. According to him, only after the central government’s change – especially under PM Modi’s push for International Yoga Day – did the atmosphere begin to heal.

He shifted gears to a more pressing worry: drug addiction. “Young lives are being lost to substance abuse. We’re fighting it, because a society that forgets its youth forgets its future,” he declared, urging honesty and collective responsibility.

On the education front, the minister sounded upbeat. New dental and MBBS seats have opened, with plans for Ayurvedic, Homeopathic and pharmacy colleges on the horizon. “Soon you won’t have to leave Tripura for higher studies,” he promised. Still, he reiterated his mantra – academic excellence means nothing if you’re not a decent person.

Wrapping up, Saha appealed to the youth: “You are the stewards of our state and our nation. Carry your knowledge with humility, serve your community, and love your country.” The applause that followed felt less like a curtain call and more like a gentle nudge toward a better tomorrow.