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Over an extended period, coercive phone calls continued. At first, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, and then from the police themselves. Finally, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh states he was summoned to law enforcement headquarters and instructed bluntly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

Shaikh is part of a group resisting a multimillion-dollar initiative where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – faces razed and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of this area is exceptional in the globe," says the protester. "However they want to dismantle our social fabric and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of this community stand in sharp opposition to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that overshadow the area. Dwellings are built haphazardly and frequently without proper sanitation, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the environment is filled with the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the prospect of the slum's redevelopment into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, neat parks, contemporary malls and residences with multiple bathrooms is an optimistic future realized.

"There's no proper healthcare, proper streets or sewage systems and there's nowhere for youth to recreate," states A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who moved from southern India in 1982. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and build us new homes."

Local Protest

Yet certain residents, like the leather artisan, are fighting against the redevelopment.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need financial support and improvement. But they are concerned that this initiative – absent of community input – is one that will turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, forcing out the lower-caste, immigrant populations who have resided there since the nineteenth century.

These were these excluded, migrant workers who developed the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose output is worth between one million dollars and $2m per year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the packed 220-hectare area, fewer than half will be able for alternative accommodation in the project, which is expected to take seven years to finish. Others will be relocated to barren areas and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the city, potentially break up a historic social network. Some will receive no residences at all.

Those allowed to remain in the area will be allocated flats in tower blocks, a substantial change from the natural, collective approach of residing and operating that has supported the community for many years.

Industries from tailoring to ceramic crafts and material recovery are expected to reduce in scale and be transferred to a designated "industrial sector" distant from residential areas.

Livelihood Crisis

For residents like this protester, a craftsman and third generation resident to call home the slum, the project presents an existential threat. His makeshift, three-storey workshop produces garments – formal jackets, premium outerwear, fashionable garments – distributed in luxury boutiques in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

Relatives resides in the spaces downstairs and laborers and sewers – migrants from north India – live in the same building, permitting him to manage costs. Outside Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often significantly more expensive for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

In the official facilities close by, a visual representation of the redevelopment plan illustrates a contrasting outlook. Slickly dressed inhabitants gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, buying international baguettes and pastries and socializing on an outdoor area near a restaurant and Ice-Cream. This depicts a complete departure from the affordable idli sambar morning meal and budget beverage that maintains local residents.

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

Furthermore, there's concern of the business conglomerate. Managed by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has faced accusations of crony capitalism and ethical concerns, which it disputes.

Although the state government calls it a collaborative effort, the corporation paid nearly a billion dollars for its controlling interest. A lawsuit alleging that the redevelopment was unfairly awarded to the developer is being considered in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to vocally oppose the development, protesters and community members claim they have been faced an extended period of pressure and threats – comprising messages, direct threats and insinuations that criticizing the development was comparable with anti-national sentiment – by individuals they allege are associated with the developer.

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