India. Freedom House, http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/india
(accessed February 10- Februrary 15, 2012).
Freedom House rated India’s level of democracy as free. The article then gave a basic history of democracy in India and analyzed its political rights and civil liberties. Indian independence is less than a century old. While it may be the largest democracy, India is still fraught with inequality and human rights violations. Gender discrimination is the cause of preferential treatment. Dowries and domestic abuse are often the cause of female suicide. The caste system has been outlawed for years, but still remains a part of society and a cause of inequality. Judicial corruption is widespread, but the media is fairly free and an important part of Indian democracy.
Freedom House is a well-regarded source for political scientists. While it is certainly biased towards democracies in general, it considers more than just the political processes instead analyzing the liberties that are actually afforded. It is based in the United States, but I do not consider it tainted by American ideas of democracy. It does not compare India to the United States, but instead to every other country in the world. While this source is not specific enough for extensive use in my research question, the article gives a concise overview of what freedoms India is lacking. This also has the advantage of being a well-known and easily understood source.
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