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Across several weeks, intimidating communications persisted. Originally, allegedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, subsequently from the authorities. Ultimately, a local artisan states he was called to the local precinct and instructed bluntly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

Shaikh is among those fighting a expensive project where one of India's largest slums – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and modernized by a corporate giant.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is unparalleled in the world," says the protester. "Yet they want to eradicate our social fabric and stop us speaking out."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of Dharavi stand in sharp opposition to the high-rise structures and luxury apartments that dominate the settlement. Dwellings are built haphazardly and frequently lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is filled with the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and apartments with multiple bathrooms is an optimistic future realized.

"We don't have proper healthcare, proper streets or drainage and there's nowhere for youth to recreate," says a tea vendor, 56, who migrated from southern India in 1982. "The single option is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Local Protest

But others, such as Shaikh, are opposing the plan.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, long neglected as unauthorized settlement, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. But they worry that this plan – without community input – could potentially transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into an elite enclave, forcing out the lower-caste, working-class residents who have lived there since the nineteenth century.

It was these shunned, relocated individuals who built up the uninhabited area into an extensively researched phenomenon of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose output is estimated at between $1m and $2m a year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Of the roughly one million inhabitants living in the dense sprawling neighborhood, a minority will be eligible for new homes in the project, which is estimated to take a significant period to accomplish. Others will be transferred to barren areas and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the metropolis, risking divide a long-established community. Certain individuals will be denied residences at all.

Those allowed to stay in the area will be given units in multi-story structures, a major break from the organic, shared lifestyle of dwelling and laboring that has supported this area for generations.

Industries from clothing production to ceramic crafts and material recovery are projected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to a specific "business area" far from residential areas.

Existential Threat

In the case of Shaikh, a leather artisan and third generation resident to live in the slum, the project presents a survival challenge. His informal, multi-level workshop produces leather coats – sharp blazers, luxury coats, decorated jackets – marketed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and internationally.

Household members resides in the spaces below and his workers and tailors – workers from other states – reside on-site, enabling him to sustain operations. Outside this community, accommodation prices are frequently significantly more expensive for a single room.

Threats and Warning

At the government offices in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project illustrates an alternative vision for the future. Slickly dressed residents gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, acquiring continental bread and breakfast items and enlisting beverages on a patio adjacent to a restaurant and treat station. It is a complete departure from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and budget beverage that sustains local residents.

"This represents no improvement for residents," explains Shaikh. "This constitutes a massive land development that will render it impossible for us to survive."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the business conglomerate. Headed by a powerful tycoon – one of India's most powerful and an associate of the government head – the conglomerate has faced accusations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it denies.

While local authorities calls it a collaborative effort, the corporation contributed nearly a billion dollars for its majority share. A lawsuit alleging that the initiative was unfairly awarded to the business group is being considered in the top court.

Ongoing Pressure

From when they initiated to publicly resist the development, protesters and community members claim they have been experienced a long-running campaign of pressure and threats – including communications, explicit warnings and suggestions that criticizing the development was equivalent to opposing national interests – by figures they allege work for the business conglomerate.

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