Bangalore getting bangalored – the present form !!
If India were to measure its development in terms of “gross domestic brainpower” then, of all its metropolises, Bangalore, in the south, would be hands-down winner.
Post-Independence, Bangalore’s cooler climate attracted professionals, including scientists, and it became a centre for state-owned heavy industry and prestigious govt. research outfits, such as the Indian Institute of Science.
The biggest change came in the 1980’s, however, when India’s software industry was born, Texas instruments was the first multinational to set up shop in 1985, tapping into Bangalore’s large pool of engineers. The city quickly became a kind of Indian Silicon Valley, a magnet for India’s best technologists. (Not to mention this city boasting the highest number of engineers it gives birth to!! And also to add.. India topping the list of highest number of engineers being produced in the whole world.)
Apart from Nandan Nilekani, leading lights of this scene include his mentor, NR Narayan Murthy, the principal founder of Infosys Technologies, who is regularly touted as a candidate for the ceremonial but prestigious role of the Indian President. There is also Azim Premji, who transformed Wipro, his former family consumer goods, business, into India’s third largest outsourcing company.
Among the multinationals, General Electric, Microsoft, Intel and Google have setup some of their biggest research centers outside of the US in Bangalore
For all the brilliance of its technology specialists, Bangalore remains beset with problems that are monumental even by the standards of Indian Cities.
Mis-governance and poor planning have let to debilitating traffic gridlock. The city’s new airport lies on the opposite side of town from the main technology hub. With no highway or train connecting the two, the 65km journey can take 3 hours one way.
The local government is elected by the mostly rural population of Karnataka, the state of which Bangalore is the capital, and has little incentive to listen to the complaints of the technology industry. Narrow regionalist politicking means there are also regular tussles about whether English, the language of the technology industry, should be taught in local schools.
Two years ago, the city changed its name to the regional language word, Bengaluru, despite protests that “Bangalore” was an internationally known brand name.
Clearly, if Bangalore’s technology experts are to guarantee their city remains India’s leader in brainpower, they will have to do more than dream up new software codes. They will have to start applying their minds to the grubby business of India politics.
