[3] India is the 19th most electoral democratic country in Asia in 2023 with a score of 0.399 out of 1 according to V-Dem Institute based in Sweden.
[4] According to V-Dem Institute, laws on sedition, defamation, and counterterrorism are used to silence critics,[5] and describes India as "one of the worst autocratisers in the last 10 years".
Early Shakyas, Koliyas, Mallakas, and Licchavis claim assemblies open to all men, rich and poor.
[12] Other saṅghas and gaṇas had councils of unelected nobles, which don't meet the standards of democracy.
[14][15] In the 10th century, the election of local representatives for the village bodies during the Chola Empire is claimed in Vaikunda Perumal Temple's inscriptions.