3. Bangalore: Development Through Intercultural Interaction

This chapter is an elaboration on a 4-stage model of cluster development (through incubation, nucleation, agglomeration and attrition) proposed in an earlier paper by the author based on an analysis of the inception and growth of the Bangalore ICT Cluster. Through a chronological analysis of several centuries of Bangalore’s history, this chapter identifies ‘intercultural interaction’ as the principal means of ‘incubation’, which made a significant contribution to the human capital development of the region, especially in terms of its technological and entrepreneurial capabilities. The city was therefore ready to receive (nucleate) and nurture the ICT industry that landed there due to a series of ‘negative pushes’ it experienced elsewhere. Agglomeration, therefore, was a natural consequence. The chapter further explains the process of cluster formation and agglomeration using an analogy of the chemical process of crystal formation and growth. Both of these involve a fairly long period of preparation (incubation) and a rather sudden and unexpected change within (nucleation) induced by changes in the external environment. The new entity thus formed will attract similar entities to itself and achieve fast growth under the nourishment provided by the internal environment already prepared and enriched by the long period of incubation.