A Gospel sonnet

 Behold, dear friends, the Word of God above,

Whose grace and mercy doth endure always,

In every trial, every test of love,

He gives us strength to sing His holy praise.

His Word, like shining light in darkness,

leads the lost and wandering souls to righteousness.

With gentle hand, it sows the sacred seeds,

And brings the peace that calmeth all distress.

The Lord, who loved us with a love so true,

bear our sins upon the cross with pain,

And rose again, victories and anew,

That we might share in His eternal reign.

So let us trust in Him and follow still,

And by His grace, our hearts with joy shall fill.

A story about a monkey and a crab

 Once upon a time, there was a mischievous monkey named Max who lived in a lush jungle. One day, as he was swinging from branch to branch, he stumbled upon a crab named Carlos who was scurrying along the ground.

Max couldn’t resist making a prank and quickly snatched Carlos by his shell. Carlos was not amused and demanded to be released at once. Max, with a grin on his face, asked Carlos why he was in such a hurry.

Carlos huffed, “I’m on my way to a fancy dinner party and I’m already running late. If I don’t make it on time, they’ll start the feast without me.”

Max chuckled, “I’m on my way to a fancy dinner party and I’m already running late. If I don’t make it on time, they’ll start the feast without me.

Max chuckled and said, “Well, in that case, let me give you a hand… or a paw.” And with that, Max lifted Carlos up and swung him over to the party.

When they arrived, all the guests were already seated and enjoying the delicious spread. Carlos was mortified to see that he was the last to arrive, but Max wouldn’t let him be embarrassed for long.

Max announced in a loud voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the guest of honour, the one and only Carlos the Crab!”

Everyone turned to look at Carlos, who was now blushing from head to toe. Max continued, “He may be a little late, but he sure knows how to make an entrance. Carlos, show us your moves!”

To everyone’s surprise, Carlos started to tap dance on the table, causing all the guests to break out into laughter and applause. Max joined in, adding his own monkeys business to the performance.

From that day on, Max and Carlos became the best of friends and the life of every party they attended. They were known throughout the jungle as the dynamic duo who could always be counted on for a good laugh.

And so, the monkey and the crab lived happily ever after, proving that sometimes the greatest friendships are formed from the silliest pranks.

Chapter 2 of Rawls' Political Liberalism

This is a summarisation of chapter 2 of Rawls' Political Liberalism.

Chapter 2 of John Rawls’ Political Liberalism discusses the concept of a political conception of justice, and how it differs from comprehensive moral doctrine. Rawls argues that a political conception is limited to the basic structure of society and focuses on principles that can be reasonably acceptable to citizens who have different comprehensive views. Given that comprehensive views have scope so large that they extend far beyond the political conception, he avoids using comprehensive moral doctrine. Critics have underlined that in his A Theory of Justice, he had employed a comprehensive moral doctrine. To rectify this point, he was careful to avoid that the political conception that he attempts to arrive at is rather limited one in term of the scope that it covers. He also discusses the idea of an overlapping consensus where citizens can come to agree on certain principles of justice even if they have different comprehensive beliefs. Rawls concludes the chapter by stating that a political conception of justice should aim to ensure basic liberties and equality of basic rights and opportunities, while respecting the diversity of citizens’ comprehensive beliefs. 

Chapter 3 is here. 

Chapter 1 of John Rawls' Political Liberalism

Chapter 1 of Rawl's Political Liberalism introduces Rawls' main idea, which is to present a political conception of justice that can serve as a basis for a just and a stable society of free and equal citizens, even in a situation where people of various comprehensive philosophical, religious and moral doctrines live together. 

Rawls argues that such a political conception should not rely on any specific comprehensive worldview, but rather should be grounded in a shared public values and principles that can be reasonably justified to all citizens. He also introduces the idea of the original position, a hypothetical political circumstance in which citizens are made to choose principles of justice from behind a veil of ignorance, a situation that denies the citizens knowledge of their social, economic and natural traits. The reason for positioning the citizens behind such a veil is to prevent them from being bias in arriving at the principles that would then serve as a guiding 'north star' for their social lives. This hypothetical political circumstance is then employed to derive the two principles of justice that Rawls claimed are most reasonable and just: the first principle of equal basic liberties, and the second principle of fair equality of opportunity and the difference principle. 

A few sentences about the difference principle. 

The difference principle states that, in a society, social and economic inequalities are just if and only if they are arranged to benefit the least advantaged members of society as well. In other words, Rawls argues that inequalities in wealth, income, and social status are acceptable only if they are arranged in such a way as to work to the advantage of the people who are worst off. Rawls argues that this principle is necessary to ensure that the basic rights and liberties of all citizens are protected, and to ensure that the least advantaged members of society are not left behind. The difference principle is meant to be combined with the principle of fair equality of opportunity, which states that all citizens should have an equal chance to achieve positions of social and economic advantage, regardless of their background. Rawls argues that these two principles, when combined, provide a framework for a just and equal society.

Chapter 2 is here. 

A Prayer on Covid19

Dear Lord, Covid19 has been creating havoc in the lives of so many people. So many people have lost their near and dear ones; their livelihood have been disrupted. O Lord, we pray for a solution to this disruption. In your wisdom and mercy, O Lord, let people be able to rebuild their lives again. Dear Lord, let healthcare professionals and scientist be given wisdom to find effective measures to contain the germ causing Covid19. Dear Lord, let people be given prudence to prevent spreading of the infection from one person to another. May you bring healing on this earth that you have created. Let people on earth realise their mistakes, and O Lord, in the days to come, let such germs remain where they should be. We pray for the leaders that you grant them wisdom to take political measures to bring healing and to stabilize society broken by Covid19. Dear Lord, in Jesus name we pray that your eyes would look on us favorably and our lives would once more be free of Covid19. Amen. 

UGC's Exception Form

 

One can take a print out of this or make a form similar to this for use. 

NB: This form is used to renew the fellowship when it has lapsed for more than one year due to medical reason or something of that sort. A friend of mine went to the Scholarship Cell to obtain this form, but was told that this form would be available with the UGC. The UGC official said that this form would be available with the nodal officer of the respective university. Both sides did not seem to the have the form. So, for the sake of easy accessibility, I put up the form here. As of 2020, this form is valid. Hopefully, the format may remain the same for years to come.  I see no reason why it should change.