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Over an extended period, coercive communications recurred. Originally, reportedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, later from the authorities. Ultimately, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was summoned to law enforcement headquarters and instructed bluntly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

The leather artisan is part of a group opposing a expensive project where Dharavi – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – faces razed and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The unique ecosystem of Dharavi is exceptional in the planet," explains Shaikh. "Yet their intention is to eradicate our way of life and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The cramped lanes of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the towering buildings and elite residences that loom over the neighborhood. Dwellings are assembled randomly and typically missing basic amenities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the air is permeated by the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of luxury high-rises, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and homes with two toilets is an aspirational dream achieved.

"We don't have proper healthcare, paved pathways or water management and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," explains A Selvin Nadar, 56, who migrated from southern India in the early eighties. "The single option is to clear the area and construct proper housing."

Community Resistance

However, some, like Shaikh, are fighting against the project.

None deny that this community, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is urgently needing financial support and improvement. However they are concerned that this plan – lacking public consultation – is one that will turn premium city property into a playground for the rich, evicting the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

This involved these marginalized, migrant workers who built up the empty marshland into a frequently examined example of community resilience and economic productivity, whose production is valued at between one million dollars and two million dollars annually, making it a major unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Among approximately 1 million residents living in the dense sprawling zone, less than 50% will be able for replacement housing in the development, which is expected to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Others will be moved to barren areas and saline fields on the remote edges of Mumbai, potentially fragment a generations-old neighborhood. Certain individuals will receive no residences at all.

Those allowed to remain in Dharavi will be allocated apartments in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the organic, communal way of residing and operating that has maintained this area for many years.

Industries from garment work to clay work and waste processing are projected to reduce in scale and be moved to an allocated "business area" separated from homes.

Survival Challenge

For those such as this protester, a craftsman and long-time inhabitant to reside in this community, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, three-storey operation creates garments – formal jackets, suede trenches, decorated jackets – sold in luxury boutiques in upscale neighborhoods and internationally.

His family lives in the rooms underneath and laborers and garment workers – migrants from north India – also sleep there, permitting him to manage costs. Away from Dharavi's enclave, Mumbai rents are often tenfold costlier for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

At the government offices nearby, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project shows an alternative outlook. Well-groomed people mill about on bicycles and electric vehicles, acquiring continental bread and croissants and socializing on an outdoor area near a restaurant and treat station. This represents a complete departure from the affordable idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that supports the neighborhood.

"This isn't development for our community," states the artisan. "It's a massive real estate deal that will price people out for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's concern of the development company. Managed by a powerful tycoon – one of India's most powerful and a close ally of the national leader – the corporation has encountered allegations of favoritism and questionable practices, which it denies.

While local authorities describes it as a collaborative effort, the business group paid $950m for its controlling interest. A case alleging that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the developer is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

After they started to publicly resist the development, local opponents assert they have been faced a long-running campaign of harassment and intimidation – comprising phone calls, explicit warnings and insinuations that speaking against the project was tantamount to speaking against the country – by people they assert work for the developer.

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