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By:

Anil D. Salve

21 March 2026 at 8:11:09 pm

A Drought of Wisdom in an Ocean of Information

We live in an age where information is everywhere. With a single click, we can access news from across the world, thousands of opinions, countless videos and endless claims. Knowledge has never been so accessible. Yet, in this overwhelming flow of information, something increasingly scarce is discernment-the ability to distinguish what deserves our belief from what deserves our doubt. Information and knowledge are not the same. Reading, watching or hearing something does not automatically...

A Drought of Wisdom in an Ocean of Information

We live in an age where information is everywhere. With a single click, we can access news from across the world, thousands of opinions, countless videos and endless claims. Knowledge has never been so accessible. Yet, in this overwhelming flow of information, something increasingly scarce is discernment-the ability to distinguish what deserves our belief from what deserves our doubt. Information and knowledge are not the same. Reading, watching or hearing something does not automatically make it true. We need the ability to verify information, understand its context, recognise its purpose and only then form an opinion. In the digital age, this ability has become one of the most important forms of wisdom. Social media has transformed the way information travels. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and other platforms have made communication faster, wider and more accessible. But the same speed that connects society can also overwhelm it. Information often reaches us before facts do. A headline is read before the full story. A short video is watched without knowing what happened before or after it. A photograph is circulated without its original context. A message arrives with the familiar words, “Forwarded as received,” and within minutes it may reach thousands of people. By the time the truth catches up, the rumour may already have done its work. The problem becomes even more serious when misinformation is deliberately created and circulated. Rumours may be planted not merely to mislead individuals but to divert public attention from an important issue, create suspicion, damage someone's reputation or push society towards a particular narrative. A distraction does not always need to be completely false. Sometimes a small piece of truth is mixed with exaggeration, selective facts or emotional language. The result can be more powerful than an outright lie because it appears believable. This is how narratives are manufactured. Social media platforms can become powerful tools in this process. A repeated claim begins to look familiar, and familiarity is often mistaken for truth. A provocative post attracts attention. Thousands of reactions create the impression that “everyone” believes it. One emotional video triggers another, comments intensify the mood, and before facts have an opportunity to speak, public sentiment may have already shifted. This is where mob psychology enters the picture. A society can move from calm to anger, suspicion to trust, or optimism to fear with surprising speed. People who would ordinarily think carefully may react differently when they see thousands of others expressing outrage, fear or hostility. The individual begins to follow the crowd, and the crowd begins to reinforce the individual. The danger is not limited to negative emotions. The same mechanism can also be used positively-to mobilise people for social causes, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, public awareness and community action. Technology itself is neither wise nor foolish. Its impact depends on how information is created, amplified and consumed. The greatest danger, therefore, is not that we have too much information. It is that we may lose the habit of thinking while consuming it. We are increasingly becoming consumers of information rather than creators of thought. Everyone has access to information today, but access does not necessarily mean understanding. The boundaries between a rumour and a report, an opinion and a fact, popularity and truth are becoming increasingly blurred. A post does not become true because thousands of people have liked it. A video does not become evidence merely because it has gone viral. An opinion does not become a fact because it is expressed confidently. An idea does not become correct simply because it confirms what we already believe. This last point deserves particular attention. We often accept information not because it is accurate, but because it is comfortable. We are naturally attracted to information that confirms our existing beliefs and suspicious of information that challenges them. In the digital world, this tendency can be amplified by algorithms that repeatedly expose us to content similar to what we have already watched, liked or shared. Gradually, we may find ourselves living inside an information bubble where we hear many voices-but mostly voices that agree with us. That is not diversity of information. It is an illusion of certainty. Discernment does not mean doubting everything. It means thinking before believing. It means asking simple but powerful questions: Who is saying this? What is the evidence? What is the context? What may be missing? Who benefits if I believe it? And have I heard the other side? These questions may take only a few seconds, but they can prevent hours, days or even years of misunderstanding. This responsibility is particularly important for the younger generation. Children today are growing up in an environment of unprecedented information exposure. They can encounter more information in a few hours than earlier generations might have encountered in weeks. Therefore, education cannot merely teach students how to collect, remember and reproduce information. It must teach them how to question, verify, analyse and interpret it. A student who can write the correct answer in an examination may be academically successful. But a student who knows how to ask the right question is better prepared for life. The classroom of the future must therefore produce not merely informed students, but thinking citizens. They must learn that forwarding a message is also a form of responsibility. Sharing a post is not an innocent act when it can affect someone's reputation, create public fear or influence social behaviour. The challenge becomes even greater in the age of Artificial Intelligence. AI can generate information, images, audio and video with extraordinary speed and sophistication. The distinction between what is real and what merely appears real may become increasingly difficult. In such a world, human judgment becomes more valuable, not less. Technology can produce an answer in seconds. It cannot automatically tell us whether that answer deserves our trust. Some answers require experience. Some require context. Many require the ability to think independently. We have more information, more technology and more connectivity than any previous generation. Yet our real challenge is to preserve something technology cannot manufacture for us: the capacity to think for ourselves. The ocean of information will only become larger. The question will no longer be, “How much information do we have?” The more important questions will be: What should we accept? What should we question? What should we verify? And what should we reject? No technology can completely answer these questions for us. No number of likes can substitute for evidence. No viral trend can replace judgment. No majority can turn misinformation into truth. That responsibility belongs to human beings. Information can tell us what happened. Discernment helps us understand what it means, why it happened, what may be missing from the story and how we should respond. Perhaps, therefore, the greatest educational challenge of our time is not to teach people how to find more information. They already know how to do that. The greater challenge is to teach them how to pause-to pause before believing, to pause before reacting, to pause before forwarding and to pause before joining the crowd. Because sometimes the most intelligent response to information is not an immediate reaction, but a moment of reflection. The ocean is already around us. It is growing deeper every day. What we need now is not more information to swim through it-but the wisdom to know which direction to take. (The writer is the Principal of Podar International School, Ausa, Latur. Views personal.)

Govt inks labor pacts with 28 nations

Correspondent
1 hour ago
3 min read

Mumbai: ​In a strategic maneuver designed to propel its youth onto the global professional stage, the Maharashtra government unveiled its visionary 'Global Workforce Mobility Policy 2026' on Monday. The sweeping initiative introduces country-specific 'Skill Passports', modernized vocational curricula, and airtight ethical recruitment frameworks aimed at securing lucrative overseas employment for the state's talent pool.

 

​The ambitious roadmap was formally launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during a high-powered international conference on the 'Circular Mobility of Talent' hosted at Mumbai's Sahyadri Guest House. The marquee event was a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), the Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, alongside the newly minted Maharashtra Agency for Holistic International Mobility and Advancement (MAHIMA).

 

​Delivering the keynote address, Chief Minister Fadnavis underscored the seismic shifts in global demographics. He noted that rapidly aging populations across the developed world have catalyzed an unprecedented demand for skilled professionals.

 

​"India’s demographic dividend is our greatest asset, and it must be meticulously calibrated to meet this surging global demand," Fadnavis articulated. "By championing the 'Circular Mobility of Talent', Maharashtra is poised to become a linchpin in the global workforce ecosystem."

 

​To materialize this vision, the Chief Minister issued stringent directives to Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and vocational centers across the state, mandating an immediate overhaul of their syllabi to mirror international industry standards. He further proposed the conceptualization of 'Skill Passports'—customized credentialing portfolios tailored to the regulatory and professional prerequisites of specific destination countries.

 

 

​Capitalizing on robust bilateral diplomacy, Maharashtra is actively leveraging labour mobility agreements negotiated with 28 countries. These partner nations are currently grappling with severe manpower deficits in high-growth sectors, including advanced engineering, healthcare, infrastructure development, and specialized technology.

 

​Citing the World Economic Forum's 'Future of Jobs Report 2025', Fadnavis cautioned that while automation may displace 92 million jobs globally by 2030, an estimated 170 million new roles will simultaneously emerge. "Against this transformative backdrop, Maharashtra will take a decisive lead in international workforce mobility," he declared.

​He urged state agencies to synergize with seasoned global recruitment firms to decode nuanced market demands and advocated for a hybrid pedagogy—fusing traditional classroom instruction with immersive digital and hands-on training modules. The state's draft policy also promises end-to-end support, encompassing pre-departure orientation, visa documentation assistance, and strategies to reintegrate returning diaspora into local industries to harness their global expertise.

​

Language Divide

​Recognizing linguistic barriers as a formidable hurdle to overseas integration, the conference witnessed the signing of a landmark tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The pact, inked between the Central Government's 'Digital India Bhashini', MITRA, and MAHIMA, promises to democratize foreign language acquisition.

 

​This pilot initiative will utilize cutting-edge translation technologies to offer free, profession-specific language training to ITI and polytechnic students, ensuring that communication gaps no longer impede Maharashtra’s aspiring global workforce.

 

​Cultural Bridges

​State Protocol Minister Jaykumar Rawal elevated the discourse, emphasizing that international labor mobility transcends mere migration. "This is a multifaceted economic partnership intertwining skills, foreign direct investment, diaspora engagement, and global market access,"

 

Rawal observed. He highlighted that by synergizing the robust network of foreign consulates in Mumbai with local industries and academia, the state will forge direct conduits between homegrown talent and global opportunities.

 

​Echoing this sentiment, Minister for Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, reiterated the government’s commitment to cultural assimilation. "We are not merely exporting labor; we are nurturing cultural ambassadors. Our youth will carry Maharashtra's legacy abroad, fortifying diplomatic and cultural ties with their host nations," Lodha stated.

 

​The high-profile conclave drew an elite assembly of international diplomats, including Christoph Hellier (Consul, Germany), Sato Hitomi (Japan), Patrick Livenrino (France), Ivan Petisov (Russia), and John Nickell (UK). The event also saw participation from top state brass and a cohort of international recruitment stakeholders.

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