India ink is a black writing ink. It is water-based, carbon-pigmented and has a binder, usually gelatin, to form a water-proof film and prevent smudging.
I draw with black ink and fine-point dip pen. Carbon-based India ink (also called Indian ink or Chinese ink) is the default black ink with true black color. It has been around for many years and didn't improve in principle. However, modern binders smell better than fish glue used traditionally. India ink comes as opaque black liquid or in small bricks of hard sticky material that one needs to crush and dilute with water to desired consistency. In this form India ink is used mostly for brush calligraphy. My own experiments with the burned wool and gelatin suggest that getting the ink thick enough but not too thick for the dip pen in your kitchen is not worth the trouble.
The best black drawing black ink on the market is the water-based Higgins Black Magic followed by solvent-based Speedball and Winsor & Newton. Higgins also has several others sub-brands of ink which vary in pigment saturation and binder. They have their own uses, but for drawing free-hand on paper Black Magic is it. These inks are acid-free and archival, light-fast, waterproof, and don't smudge. Another possibility are genuine Japanese inks that come in bricks, for brush calligraphy, and Pelikan Fount India meant for fountain pens. Professional black felt-tip pens and capillary pens like Pelikan or Sakura by Pigma have carbon-based pigment ink as well; the drawing method is different, but the life expectancy of the product is the same.
Pigments are generally light-fast, compared to dyes, and the standard black pigment is the indestructible carbon. Beside color stability, important features of the ink are:
Pigment particle size: cruder pigment particles will settle faster and may clog the pen.
Archival quality: neutral or alkaline solution, since the acid discolors and ruins the paper.
Opaqueness, saturation and thickness, all depend on pigment concentration.
Waterproofness, fluidity and viscosity, dependent on binder or resin.
Besides and before Higgins and Speedball I used generic black ink made in Russia, China, and Eastern Germany. Pens do clog and the ink does run too easily, at the same time. Best India ink is cheap, so don't compromise.
See also: Speedball.