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Over an extended period, intimidating messages persisted. Initially, allegedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, subsequently from the authorities. Ultimately, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh states he was summoned to law enforcement headquarters and instructed bluntly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

The leather artisan is one of many resisting a high-value initiative where Dharavi – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – will be bulldozed and transformed by a large business group.

"The culture of the slum is unparalleled in the globe," says the protester. "However their intention is to destroy our community and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The narrow alleys of Dharavi stand in sharp opposition to the towering buildings and elite residences that loom over the area. Dwellings are built haphazardly and typically missing basic amenities, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the environment is permeated by the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

For certain residents, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of premium apartments, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and residences with proper sanitation is a hopeful vision achieved.

"We lack proper healthcare, roads or water management and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," states A Selvin Nadar, fifty-six, who moved from southern India in 1982. "The only way is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

Yet certain residents, like this protester, are opposing the plan.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. But they are concerned that this initiative – without resident participation – is one that will convert valuable urban land into a playground for the rich, displacing the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have resided there since generations ago.

This involved these shunned, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a frequently examined example of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose output is estimated at between a significant amount and $2m per year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately 1 million residents living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer area, a minority will be able for alternative accommodation in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take a significant period to complete. Additional residents will be transferred to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the distant periphery of Mumbai, threatening to break up a generations-old social network. A portion will be denied residences at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the neighborhood will be given flats in multi-story structures, a major break from the organic, shared lifestyle of living and working that has maintained Dharavi for many years.

Businesses from clothing production to pottery and recycling are likely to reduce in scale and be moved to a designated "business area" distant from homes.

Existential Threat

In the case of the leather artisan, a craftsman and third generation resident to live in Dharavi, the redevelopment presents an existential threat. His rickety, three-floor workshop produces apparel – tailored coats, luxury coats, studded bomber jackets – marketed in premium stores in the city's affluent areas and internationally.

Household members lives in the accommodations below and employees and tailors – migrants from different regions – reside there, permitting him to afford their labour. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often significantly more expensive for basic accommodation.

Harassment and Intimidation

In the government offices close by, a visual representation of the transformation initiative shows a contrasting vision for the future. Slickly dressed residents move around on cycles and e-vehicles, acquiring international baguettes and croissants and having coffee on a terrace adjacent to Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This depicts a stark contrast from the affordable idli sambar morning meal and 5-rupee chai that sustains Dharavi's community.

"This represents no development for us," states the artisan. "It represents a massive real estate deal that will render it impossible for us to survive."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the corporate group. Headed by an influential industrialist – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the government head – the corporation has encountered allegations of preferential treatment and ethical concerns, which it denies.

While administrative bodies describes it as a joint project, the developer invested $950m for its majority share. Legal proceedings claiming that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the corporation is under review in India's supreme court.

Ongoing Pressure

After they started to actively protest the project, local opponents claim they have been subjected to an extended period of pressure and threats – involving messages, explicit warnings and suggestions that speaking against the initiative was tantamount to anti-national sentiment – by figures they claim are associated with the business conglomerate.

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