Identity and Representations of Gated Communities in Bangalore, India

Gated communities, residential enclaves that offer upscale housing and a variety of recreational and communal facilities within a walled area with controlled entrances, are proliferating in many of India's large metropolitan cities. In this paper, we analyze the images of place and identity that are evoked in online advertisements for gated communities in the city of Bangalore in southern India. Since the 1990s, Bangalore has become known as India's premier information technology (IT) hub and a magnet for multinational corporations and high-skill personnel. The latter include Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who lived and worked abroad for several years and have returned to partake of new opportunities offered in the country. We explore the intersection of notions of identity, home and community in a globalised world through an examination of the graphic and textual images encoded in the advertisements of thirteen prominent developers in Bangalore whose upscale gated developments cater to NRIs. The advertisements depict high-end gated communities as places of luxury, exclusiveness, high security and convenience which also offer a range of recreational facilities for individuals and families. Additionally, those who live in the gated enclaves are portrayed as persons of distinction and class who are global and cosmopolitan in their outlook and identity.