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Over an extended period, threatening communications continued. Originally, reportedly from a former police officer and a retired army general, and then from the police themselves. Ultimately, a local artisan states he was summoned to law enforcement headquarters and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

The leather artisan is part of a group opposing a high-value redevelopment plan where Dharavi – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is exceptional in the planet," explains Shaikh. "But they want to dismantle our community and stop us speaking out."

Contrasting Realities

The dank gullies of this community sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and elite residences that overshadow the area. Homes are constructed informally and frequently lacking adequate facilities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the suffocating smell of open sewers.

For certain residents, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of luxury high-rises, well-maintained green spaces, shiny shopping centers and residences with two toilets is an optimistic future achieved.

"We lack sufficient health services, paved pathways or sewage systems and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," says A Selvin Nadar, 56, who migrated from Tamil Nadu in the early eighties. "The single option is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

But others, like Shaikh, are fighting against the project.

All recognize that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. But they worry that this plan – absent of public consultation – could potentially transform premium city property into an elite enclave, forcing out the lower-caste, migrant communities who have resided there since the nineteenth century.

These were these shunned, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose economic value is valued at between a significant amount and $2m annually, making it one of the world's largest unregulated sectors.

Displacement Concerns

Of the roughly one million inhabitants living in the packed sprawling neighborhood, less than 50% will be eligible for new homes in the development, which is projected to take seven years to accomplish. Additional residents will be transferred to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the remote edges of the metropolis, risking divide a generations-old social network. Some will receive no housing at all.

People eligible to continue living in the area will be given units in tower blocks, a major break from the organic, shared lifestyle of dwelling and laboring that has sustained Dharavi for generations.

Businesses from garment work to pottery and material recovery are projected to shrink in number and be relocated to an allocated "business area" far from people's residences.

Survival Challenge

For those such as this protester, a leather artisan and long-time of his family to live in Dharavi, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, three-storey facility creates leather coats – formal jackets, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – marketed in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

His family dwells in the rooms downstairs and his workers and garment workers – workers from other states – also sleep on-site, allowing him to afford their labour. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, Mumbai rents are typically tenfold costlier for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

At the administrative buildings in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project illustrates an alternative perspective. Slickly dressed people gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, purchasing western-style baguettes and croissants and socializing on an outdoor area near Dharavi Cafe and dessert parlor. This represents a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and budget beverage that sustains the neighborhood.

"This isn't progress for residents," states Shaikh. "It's an enormous real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

There is also concern of the business conglomerate. Headed by an influential industrialist – one of India's most powerful and a close ally of the government head – the conglomerate has been subject to claims of preferential treatment and financial impropriety, which it rejects.

Although local authorities labels it a partnership, the developer contributed nearly a billion dollars for its 80% stake. A lawsuit stating that the project was unfairly awarded to the developer is being considered in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

After they started to vocally oppose the project, protesters and community members claim they have been subjected to an extended period of pressure and threats – comprising phone calls, explicit warnings and implications that speaking against the development was comparable with speaking against the country – by people they claim represent the corporate group.

Included in these accused of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c