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Over an extended period, intimidating communications recurred. At first, reportedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, subsequently from the police themselves. In the end, one resident claims he was ordered to the local precinct and instructed bluntly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

This third-generation resident is one of many resisting a high-value redevelopment plan where Dharavi – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The unique ecosystem of the slum is unparalleled in the world," states Shaikh. "Yet their intention is to destroy our way of life and prevent our protests."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of the slum present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the settlement. Residences are constructed informally and typically lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the overpowering odor of open sewers.

For certain residents, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and homes with two toilets is a hopeful vision achieved.

"We lack adequate medical facilities, roads or sewage systems and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," explains A Selvin Nadar, fifty-six, who relocated from Tamil Nadu in that period. "The sole solution is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

However, some, such as Shaikh, are resisting the plan.

None deny that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as an illegal encroachment, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. However they are concerned that this initiative – absent of resident participation – might transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into an elite enclave, evicting the lower-caste, migrant communities who have been there since the nineteenth century.

These were these excluded, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and commercial output, whose production is valued at between a significant amount and a substantial sum annually, making it a major unregulated sectors.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately one million people living in the packed 2.2 square kilometer neighborhood, fewer than half will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is expected to take seven years to complete. Additional residents will be moved to wastelands and saline fields on the distant periphery of the city, risking divide a generations-old community. Certain individuals will not get homes at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the neighborhood will be provided apartments in tower blocks, a significant rupture from the organic, communal way of residing and operating that has maintained this area for so long.

Businesses from clothing production to ceramic crafts and waste processing are likely to shrink in number and be relocated to a specific "commercial zone" separated from homes.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of this protester, a workshop owner and third generation inhabitant to reside in Dharavi, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, multi-level operation creates garments – sharp blazers, premium outerwear, fashionable garments – distributed in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members resides in the rooms below and employees and garment workers – migrants from other states – live there, permitting him to sustain operations. Away from the slum, accommodation prices are often 10 times more expensive for a single room.

Threats and Warning

At the government offices in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the transformation initiative shows a very different perspective. Well-groomed people mill about on two-wheelers and eco-friendly transport, acquiring continental bread and pastries and socializing on a patio outside a coffee shop and treat station. This represents a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar breakfast and low-cost tea that supports Dharavi's community.

"This isn't progress for us," says the protester. "This constitutes a huge real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

There is also distrust of the development company. Run by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and an associate of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has been subject to claims of preferential treatment and financial impropriety, which it rejects.

Although local authorities describes it as a joint project, the developer contributed nearly a billion dollars for its controlling interest. Legal proceedings stating that the project was questionably assigned to the business group is pending in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to vocally oppose the redevelopment, protesters and community members assert they have been faced an extended period of coercion and warning – including communications, direct threats and implications that criticizing the initiative was equivalent to opposing national interests – by individuals they claim represent the developer.

Part of the group accused of delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c