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Over an extended period, threatening phone calls continued. Initially, reportedly from a retired cop and an ex-military commander, subsequently from law enforcement directly. Finally, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh states he was ordered to the local precinct and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is part of a group resisting a high-value project where this historic settlement – a massive informal community with rich history – will be razed and modernized by a corporate giant.

"The culture of this area is exceptional in the globe," says Shaikh. "Yet their intention is to eradicate our way of life and silence our voices."

Contrasting Realities

The dank gullies of Dharavi sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the area. Homes are assembled randomly and frequently without proper sanitation, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the environment is permeated by the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

To some, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, neat parks, contemporary malls and residences with two toilets is a hopeful vision realized.

"We lack proper healthcare, proper streets or water management and we have no places for youth to recreate," explains a chai seller, 56, who moved from his home state in 1982. "The only way is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

Yet certain residents, including the leather artisan, are fighting against the plan.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring investment and development. But they are concerned that this project – without resident participation – is one that will turn premium city property into a luxury development, evicting the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since generations ago.

It was these marginalized, migrant workers who developed the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of community resilience and business activity, whose production is estimated at between one million dollars and $2m annually, making it a major unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Out of about one million residents living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer neighborhood, a minority will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is expected to take seven years to accomplish. Additional residents will be relocated to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the remote edges of the metropolis, potentially divide a historic neighborhood. Certain individuals will be denied homes at all.

Those allowed to remain in Dharavi will be given units in high-rise buildings, a substantial change from the evolved, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has sustained Dharavi for generations.

Commercial activities from tailoring to pottery and recycling are projected to shrink in number and be relocated to a specific "business area" distant from residential areas.

Survival Challenge

In the case of this protester, a leather artisan and multi-generational of his family to call home this community, the redevelopment presents an existential threat. His makeshift, three-storey workshop creates apparel – sharp blazers, luxury coats, studded bomber jackets – distributed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and abroad.

Household members dwells in the accommodations underneath and his workers and tailors – migrants from other states – also sleep there, enabling him to manage costs. Beyond this community, Mumbai rents are typically 10 times costlier for a single room.

Pressure and Coercion

In the administrative buildings in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the redevelopment plan illustrates an alternative vision for the future. Well-groomed residents move around on cycles and electric vehicles, acquiring international bread and breakfast items and enlisting beverages on a terrace near Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. It is a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that sustains the neighborhood.

"This isn't development for residents," says Shaikh. "It's a huge property transaction that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

There is also concern of the corporate group. Headed by a powerful tycoon – among the country's wealthiest and an associate of the national leader – the corporation has encountered allegations of favoritism and questionable practices, which it denies.

While local authorities calls it a collaborative effort, the corporation paid a significant amount for its majority share. A case claiming that the project was questionably assigned to the developer is under review in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to actively protest the development, Shaikh and other residents assert they have been subjected to ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – comprising communications, direct threats and implications that opposing the development was tantamount to speaking against the country – by individuals they claim are associated with the business conglomerate.

Part of the group accused of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c