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Over an extended period, coercive communications persisted. At first, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and an ex-military commander, later from law enforcement directly. Finally, a local artisan states he was summoned to the local precinct and told clearly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

Shaikh is part of a group fighting a expensive initiative where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – faces bulldozed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is like nowhere else in the globe," explains Shaikh. "Yet their intention is to dismantle our social fabric and silence our voices."

Contrasting Realities

The dank gullies of the slum present a dramatic difference to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the settlement. Dwellings are assembled randomly and frequently lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the environment is saturated with the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

For certain residents, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a modern district of high-end towers, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and residences with two toilets is a hopeful vision come true.

"We don't have sufficient health services, paved pathways or drainage and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," explains a tea vendor, 56, who moved from his home state in 1982. "The only way is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

However, some, like the leather artisan, are fighting against the plan.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, long neglected as unauthorized settlement, is in stark need investment and development. But they fear that this initiative – lacking resident participation – is one that will turn valuable urban land into a luxury development, displacing the lower-caste, immigrant populations who have been there since the nineteenth century.

It was these excluded, relocated individuals who built up the uninhabited area into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and business activity, whose production is worth between one million dollars and a substantial sum per year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Out of about 1 million inhabitants living in the dense sprawling zone, a minority will be qualified for replacement housing in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Others will be moved to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the remote edges of Mumbai, threatening to divide a long-established community. Some will be denied housing at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the area will be allocated apartments in tower blocks, a substantial change from the evolved, shared lifestyle of dwelling and laboring that has supported Dharavi for many years.

Commercial activities from clothing production to ceramic crafts and material recovery are projected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to an allocated "commercial zone" far from people's residences.

Existential Threat

For those such as this protester, a leather artisan and long-time inhabitant to reside in this community, the project presents a survival challenge. His informal, three-storey operation creates apparel – sharp blazers, suede trenches, fashionable garments – sold in premium stores in the city's affluent areas and abroad.

Relatives dwells in the rooms downstairs and his workers and garment workers – laborers from north India – live there, permitting him to afford their labour. Beyond this community, Mumbai rents are typically tenfold more expensive for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

In the government offices in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the transformation initiative shows a very different perspective. Slickly dressed people gather on bicycles and electric vehicles, acquiring international baked goods and croissants and socializing on a terrace outside a coffee shop and treat station. It is a stark contrast from the affordable idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that supports the neighborhood.

"This represents no progress for residents," states the artisan. "It's a massive land development that will render it impossible for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's distrust of the business conglomerate. Managed by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

While the state government describes it as a partnership, the developer paid $950m for its controlling interest. Legal proceedings alleging that the redevelopment was unfairly awarded to the developer is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to publicly resist the development, protesters and community members assert they have been faced an extended period of pressure and threats – involving phone calls, clear intimidation and insinuations that criticizing the project was tantamount to anti-national sentiment – by people they assert are associated with the developer.

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