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For months, intimidating phone calls recurred. Initially, reportedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, later from the authorities. Finally, one resident states he was called to the police station and warned explicitly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

Shaikh is part of a group fighting a expensive initiative where Dharavi – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be demolished and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of this area is exceptional in the globe," explains Shaikh. "Yet the plan aims to eradicate our way of life and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The cramped lanes of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the settlement. Residences are assembled randomly and often without proper sanitation, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the air is permeated by the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the prospect of the slum's redevelopment into a modern district of premium apartments, well-maintained green spaces, modern retail complexes and apartments with two toilets is an optimistic future realized.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, roads or water management and there's nowhere for youth to recreate," explains a tea vendor, 56, who moved from southern India in that period. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Community Resistance

But others, including this protester, are opposing the project.

None deny that the slum, historically ignored as unauthorized settlement, is urgently needing investment and development. But they worry that this project – absent of community input – could potentially convert valuable urban land into a playground for the rich, displacing the marginalized, immigrant populations who have been there since generations ago.

These were these marginalized, relocated individuals who built up the vacant wetlands into a widely studied marvel of community resilience and commercial output, whose output is valued at between one million dollars and $2m annually, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Relocation Worries

Among approximately one million inhabitants living in the packed 220-hectare zone, less than 50% will be qualified for new homes in the redevelopment, which is projected to take seven years to accomplish. The remainder will be transferred to barren areas and salt plains on the remote edges of Mumbai, risking divide a historic community. A portion will not get housing at all.

Those allowed to stay in the area will be provided units in high-rise buildings, a major break from the natural, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has supported Dharavi for so long.

Commercial activities from garment work to clay work and recycling are projected to shrink in number and be moved to an allocated "business area" separated from people's residences.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of the leather artisan, a leather artisan and third generation resident to live in this community, the redevelopment presents a survival challenge. His rickety, three-storey facility makes leather coats – sharp blazers, premium outerwear, decorated jackets – marketed in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members dwells in the accommodations below and his workers and tailors – workers from north India – also sleep in the same building, allowing him to sustain operations. Outside Dharavi's enclave, Mumbai rents are frequently tenfold more expensive for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

At the official facilities close by, an illustrated mock-up of the redevelopment plan depicts an alternative vision for the future. Well-groomed residents move around on cycles and eco-friendly transport, buying continental baguettes and breakfast items and having coffee on a terrace outside Dharavi Cafe and treat station. This depicts a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar first meal and low-cost tea that maintains Dharavi's community.

"This represents no progress for residents," states the protester. "It's a huge property transaction that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

There is also concern of the corporate group. Headed by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and a close ally of the government head – the corporation has been subject to claims of preferential treatment and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

Although local authorities calls it a joint project, the business group invested $950m for its majority share. A case claiming that the initiative was questionably assigned to the developer is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Ongoing Pressure

From when they initiated to actively protest the redevelopment, local opponents assert they have been subjected to a long-running campaign of pressure and threats – comprising messages, explicit warnings and suggestions that opposing the project was tantamount to anti-national sentiment – by individuals they claim are associated with the business conglomerate.

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