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Across several weeks, threatening phone calls recurred. At first, allegedly from a retired cop and a retired army general, later from the police themselves. In the end, a local artisan claims he was summoned to the police station and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

The leather artisan is part of a group fighting a high-value project where one of India's largest slums – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – will be razed and redeveloped by a large business group.

"The distinctive community of this area is exceptional in the world," states Shaikh. "But they want to dismantle our community and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of the slum sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the area. Dwellings are assembled randomly and frequently missing basic amenities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the air is permeated by the overpowering odor of open sewers.

To some, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of premium apartments, neat parks, contemporary malls and residences with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream come true.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, roads or sewage systems and there are no spaces for youth to recreate," states A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who migrated from his home state in 1982. "The single option is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

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

None deny that this community, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. However they worry that this initiative – without public consultation – could potentially transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, forcing out the lower-caste, working-class residents who have been there since generations ago.

It was these shunned, relocated individuals who established the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of local enterprise and business activity, whose production is worth between one million dollars and a substantial sum a year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Among approximately 1 million inhabitants living in the packed 2.2 square kilometer area, a minority will be qualified for replacement housing in the development, which is projected to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the remote edges of Mumbai, risking fragment a historic neighborhood. Some will be denied homes at all.

People eligible to remain in the area will be provided flats in tower blocks, a substantial change from the organic, collective approach of dwelling and laboring that has supported this area for so long.

Industries from garment work to ceramic crafts and waste processing are projected to decrease in quantity and be moved to a specific "industrial sector" separated from people's residences.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of this protester, a craftsman and multi-generational resident to call home Dharavi, the project presents an existential threat. His rickety, multi-level facility creates leather coats – tailored coats, luxury coats, fashionable garments – marketed in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members lives in the rooms underneath and employees and tailors – laborers from other states – reside there, enabling him to afford their labour. Outside Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are often 10 times as high for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

At the government offices in the vicinity, a visual representation of the transformation initiative shows an alternative vision for the future. Well-groomed inhabitants gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, buying western-style baguettes and breakfast items and having coffee on a patio outside a coffee shop and Ice-Cream. This represents a complete departure from the inexpensive idli sambar first meal and low-cost tea that sustains Dharavi's community.

"This represents no progress for our community," states the artisan. "It represents a huge real estate deal that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

There is also concern of the business conglomerate. Run by a powerful tycoon – a leading figure and a close ally of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has been subject to claims of crony capitalism and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

While administrative bodies labels it a collaborative effort, the developer invested a significant amount for its 80% stake. A case stating that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the developer is being considered in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

After they started to publicly resist the redevelopment, Shaikh and other residents claim they have been subjected to an extended period of coercion and warning – comprising messages, explicit warnings and insinuations that criticizing the development was comparable with opposing national interests – by individuals they claim work for the corporate group.

Among those accused of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c