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Over an extended period, threatening phone calls continued. Initially, supposedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, subsequently from law enforcement directly. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh asserts he was summoned to the police station and warned explicitly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

This third-generation resident is part of a group resisting a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan where this historic settlement – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – faces razed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of Dharavi is unparalleled in the globe," says the resident. "However the plan aims to eradicate our social fabric and stop us speaking out."

Contrasting Realities

The narrow alleys of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the neighborhood. Residences are constructed informally and typically missing basic amenities, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the air is permeated by the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and homes with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream achieved.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or sewage systems and we have no places for children to play," says a tea vendor, 56, who moved from Tamil Nadu in that period. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

But others, including Shaikh, are opposing the plan.

None deny that this community, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need economic input and modernization. But they fear that this project – lacking community input – is one that will convert valuable urban land into a playground for the rich, forcing out the marginalized, immigrant populations who have lived there since generations ago.

These were these excluded, relocated individuals who established the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose output is valued at between one million dollars and two million dollars per year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Among approximately a million residents living in the packed sprawling area, fewer than half will be able for replacement housing in the project, which is projected to take a significant period to complete. Additional residents will be moved to barren areas and coastal regions on the remote edges of the metropolis, threatening to break up a generations-old social network. Certain individuals will receive no housing at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the area will be allocated units in tower blocks, a major break from the organic, communal way of residing and operating that has sustained the community for so long.

Commercial activities from garment work to pottery and waste processing are likely to shrink in number and be transferred to a specific "business area" far from residential areas.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of Shaikh, a leather artisan and multi-generational inhabitant to call home this community, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, multi-level workshop makes apparel – tailored coats, luxury coats, decorated jackets – sold in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members resides in the accommodations below and his workers and sewers – workers from other states – reside on-site, allowing him to sustain operations. Outside Dharavi's enclave, Mumbai rents are often 10 times as high for minimal space.

Pressure and Coercion

At the administrative buildings close by, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project shows a contrasting perspective. Slickly dressed people mill about on cycles and e-vehicles, purchasing international bread and breakfast items and socializing on a patio near Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This depicts a stark contrast from the inexpensive idli sambar morning meal and 5-rupee chai that maintains local residents.

"This represents no improvement for our community," explains the artisan. "It represents a huge land development that will price people out for residents to remain."

Additionally, there exists concern of the corporate group. Run by a powerful tycoon – one of India's most powerful and an associate of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has been subject to claims of crony capitalism and financial impropriety, which it denies.

While administrative bodies describes it as a collaborative effort, the business group invested a significant amount for its majority share. A case alleging that the project was improperly granted to the developer is pending in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to actively protest the development, Shaikh and other residents claim they have been subjected to a long-running campaign of harassment and intimidation – comprising messages, clear intimidation and insinuations that opposing the project was comparable with speaking against the country – by people they assert work for the corporate group.

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