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For months, intimidating messages continued. At first, reportedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, later from the authorities. Ultimately, one resident asserts he was called to law enforcement headquarters and told clearly: remain silent or face serious consequences.

The leather artisan is one of many resisting a multimillion-dollar project where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – will be bulldozed and modernized by a corporate giant.

"The culture of Dharavi is exceptional in the planet," states Shaikh. "However they want to destroy our community and silence our voices."

Contrasting Realities

The dank gullies of the slum sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and elite residences that loom over the area. Dwellings are assembled randomly and typically missing basic amenities, unregulated industries release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is filled with the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the promise of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of luxury high-rises, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and apartments with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream achieved.

"There's no sufficient health services, proper streets or water management and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," states A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who migrated from southern India in the early eighties. "The sole solution is to demolish everything and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

But others, such as Shaikh, are resisting the project.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. Yet they fear that this initiative – without public consultation – might convert premium city property into an elite enclave, evicting the marginalized, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

This involved these excluded, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a frequently examined example of community resilience and business activity, whose output is worth between $1m and two million dollars a year, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about one million residents living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer area, a minority will be eligible for replacement housing in the redevelopment, which is expected to take an extended timeframe to complete. Additional residents will be moved to wastelands and salt plains on the far outskirts of the city, risking break up a long-established neighborhood. A portion will be denied homes at all.

Those allowed to remain in Dharavi will be provided flats in multi-story structures, a major break from the organic, collective approach of living and working that has sustained this area for many years.

Industries from garment work to pottery and recycling are projected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to a specific "commercial zone" distant from people's residences.

Existential Threat

For those such as the leather artisan, a leather artisan and third generation of his family to reside in this community, the redevelopment presents a survival challenge. His makeshift, multi-level facility produces leather coats – tailored coats, premium outerwear, fashionable garments – sold in high-end shops in south Mumbai and internationally.

Household members dwells in the spaces underneath and employees and tailors – workers from north India – also sleep on-site, allowing him to afford their labour. Away from this community, Mumbai rents are frequently significantly as high for a single room.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the administrative buildings in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the transformation initiative shows a very different vision for the future. Fashionable residents mill about on cycles and e-vehicles, purchasing international baguettes and pastries and enlisting beverages on a terrace adjacent to a restaurant and Ice-Cream. It is a complete departure from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and low-cost tea that supports local residents.

"This isn't improvement for our community," says Shaikh. "It represents an enormous property transaction that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's distrust of the development company. Headed by an influential industrialist – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and ethical concerns, which it denies.

While administrative bodies labels it a partnership, the developer invested a significant amount for its controlling interest. A case alleging that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the developer is under review in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to vocally oppose the project, protesters and community members claim they have been subjected to an extended period of coercion and warning – comprising phone calls, direct threats and suggestions that opposing the initiative was equivalent to opposing national interests – by people they assert represent the corporate group.

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