s. 377 (cont. again). It doesn’t make sense for me to start a story without finishing it, so as the story continues in India, I’ll continue it here. The decision on s. 377 has been appealed to the Supreme Court of India by, of all people, an astrologer. He is bringing a case declaring s. 377 constitutional and appealing against the Delhi High Court decision. Change in India comes with a battle. The government, at this point, is choosing to abstain from this battle. They have not joined either side as a party. It is said they are unsure of which side they should be joining, and thus, they are not making a decision at this point. The case is to be called in the Supreme Court today (July 20), however, according to the HRLN lawyers, it will likely take 5 or 6 years for this matter to get finalized. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see whether the Supreme Court grants a ‘stay’ to support or go against the Delhi High Court’s decision. It will mean the difference of having “unnatural sex” essentially re-criminalized again. It is an interesting case to follow and I hope to be able to keep informed of its development.

Judiciary. The role of the judiciary in India is strong and arguably, encroaching on parliamentary functions. In particular for cases of public interest litigation, there are relaxed rules of standing for bringing cases and a high degree of judicial deference. However, it is also argued that the level of “social activism” by the judiciary is important in developing countries not just because “judges owe a duty to do justice with a view to creating and moulding a just society, but because a modern judiciary can no longer obtain social and political legitimacy without making a substantial contribution to issues of social justice.” Furthermore, arguably, “judges in all legal systems, when asked to scrutinize a government decision or operation, are engaged in policy analysis and politics. (Reference: The Development of Public Interest Litigation in India. Retrieved July 20, 2009 from http://www.karmayog.org/pil/pil_18893.htm).

Time. When we arrived in India time seemed to pass too slowly. Now, I am amazed by how fast time is passing. I’m finding the weeks here running by too fast and I’m running to keep up with them. India has definitely grown on me and I’m grateful for the experience to be here. I really wish the experience could last longer now. I’ll be happy to return back to Canada as I fly to Calgary to spend time with my family who I don’t often see, but I’ll also be reluctant to leave India. There is a lot to see here, a lot to do, a lot to learn…