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Over an extended period, intimidating communications recurred. At first, allegedly from a former police officer and a former defense officer, subsequently from the police themselves. In the end, a local artisan states he was summoned to the police station and warned explicitly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

Shaikh is among those fighting a multimillion-dollar project where this historic settlement – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – faces demolished and transformed by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is like nowhere else in the globe," explains the protester. "Yet their intention is to destroy our community and stop us speaking out."

Contrasting Realities

The dank gullies of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and elite residences that overshadow the neighborhood. Homes are assembled randomly and often missing basic amenities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the environment is saturated with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

For certain residents, the vision of the slum's redevelopment into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and homes with two toilets is a hopeful vision come true.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, roads or drainage and we have no places for youth to recreate," explains a tea vendor, in his fifties, who migrated from Tamil Nadu in that period. "The single option is to demolish everything and provide modern residences."

Resident Opposition

But others, including this protester, are fighting against the project.

All recognize that the slum, consistently overlooked as informal housing, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. Yet they fear that this project – without resident participation – could potentially convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, forcing out the lower-caste, working-class residents who have lived there since the late 1800s.

It was these excluded, migrant workers who developed the vacant wetlands into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and business activity, whose economic value is estimated at between a significant amount and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the packed sprawling zone, a minority will be able for new homes in the redevelopment, which is projected to take a significant period to accomplish. Additional residents will be transferred to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the far outskirts of the metropolis, threatening to divide a long-established community. Certain individuals will not get homes at all.

Those allowed to remain in the area will be provided flats in high-rise buildings, a substantial change from the natural, communal way of residing and operating that has sustained this area for so long.

Commercial activities from tailoring to pottery and material recovery are expected to decrease in quantity and be moved to an allocated "business area" distant from residential areas.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of Shaikh, a workshop owner and multi-generational resident to call home this community, the redevelopment presents a survival challenge. His rickety, three-storey workshop produces leather coats – formal jackets, suede trenches, decorated jackets – marketed in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and internationally.

Household members lives in the spaces underneath and laborers and garment workers – workers from different regions – reside on-site, allowing him to manage costs. Away from Dharavi's enclave, Mumbai rents are often 10 times more expensive for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

In the administrative buildings close by, a conceptual model of the transformation initiative depicts a very different outlook. Slickly dressed residents gather on two-wheelers and eco-friendly transport, acquiring western-style bread and breakfast items and having coffee on an outdoor area outside Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This represents a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that supports the neighborhood.

"This isn't development for our community," states Shaikh. "It's a massive property transaction that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

There is also skepticism of the development company. Managed by a powerful tycoon – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the government head – the corporation has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it denies.

While the state government describes it as a joint project, the developer contributed a significant amount for its 80% stake. A lawsuit stating that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the business group is under review in India's supreme court.

Sustained Harassment

After they started to publicly resist the redevelopment, Shaikh and other residents state they have been experienced ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – comprising communications, explicit warnings and insinuations that opposing the project was comparable with speaking against the country – by people they allege represent the developer.

Among those alleged to have making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c