India is not a full democracy but a flawed one, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2008 Democracy index. The conclusion is drawn on the basis of the country's performance on 60 indicators which measure electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture.
The Democracy index ranks India 35th out of 167 countries, among other nations considered 'flawed democracies' including Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil.
The good news is that with an overall score of 7.8 out of 10, India is close to the category of 'full democracy' nations.
India's scores take a beating in the category of political participation and political culture. The index also points out that "unwieldy and sometimes uncooperative coalitions" often hinder economic reforms. Though government functioning scores decently, corruption and lack of government accountability drags down the score in this category.
Find out how India's neighbours and other nations scored on the Democracy index...
Image: Traffic moves past a vehicle shaped like a hand, the symbol of the Congress, as part of the ruling party's campaign for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in Hyderabad.
Photograph: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters
Also see: Coverage: India Votes 2009
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