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Over an extended period, threatening communications persisted. Originally, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, subsequently from the police themselves. Finally, a local artisan states he was called to the police station and instructed bluntly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is one of many fighting a expensive project where one of India's largest slums – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be demolished and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of Dharavi is unparalleled in the world," states Shaikh. "But they want to destroy our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of this community stand in sharp opposition to the towering buildings and luxury apartments that loom over the area. Dwellings are constructed informally and often lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the atmosphere is saturated with the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

For certain residents, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of luxury high-rises, neat parks, modern retail complexes and homes with proper sanitation is an aspirational dream realized.

"We lack proper healthcare, proper streets or water management and we have no places for kids to enjoy," states A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who migrated from Tamil Nadu in the early eighties. "The only way is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Local Protest

However, some, like Shaikh, are resisting the plan.

All recognize that this community, historically ignored as unauthorized settlement, is in stark need economic input and modernization. However they are concerned that this plan – lacking community input – might convert premium city property into an elite enclave, forcing out the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since generations ago.

It was these shunned, migrant workers who built up the vacant wetlands into an extensively researched phenomenon of community resilience and commercial output, whose output is estimated at between a significant amount and two million dollars annually, making it one of the world's largest unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Out of about 1 million people living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer zone, less than 50% will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is estimated to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be moved to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the remote edges of Mumbai, risking fragment a historic community. Certain individuals will not get housing at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the area will be allocated apartments in high-rise buildings, a major break from the natural, communal way of residing and operating that has supported this area for so long.

Industries from clothing production to ceramic crafts and recycling are likely to decrease in quantity and be moved to a designated "business area" far from residential areas.

Existential Threat

For those such as the leather artisan, a workshop owner and long-time inhabitant to live in Dharavi, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, multi-level facility creates garments – formal jackets, suede trenches, fashionable garments – sold in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

His family resides in the accommodations downstairs and his workers and garment workers – migrants from north India – live in the same building, permitting him to afford their labour. Away from Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are typically 10 times as high for a single room.

Threats and Warning

At the government offices nearby, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project depicts an alternative perspective. Slickly dressed residents mill about on two-wheelers and e-vehicles, purchasing international bread and croissants and enlisting beverages on a terrace outside Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This represents a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and 5-rupee chai that maintains the neighborhood.

"This is not progress for us," says the protester. "This constitutes an enormous real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

Additionally, there exists concern of the corporate group. Run by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and a close ally of the government head – the business group has faced accusations of preferential treatment and financial impropriety, which it rejects.

While the state government calls it a collaborative effort, the developer paid nearly a billion dollars for its 80% stake. Legal proceedings claiming that the project was unfairly awarded to the business group is pending in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to vocally oppose the development, Shaikh and other residents claim they have been faced an extended period of pressure and threats – comprising phone calls, explicit warnings and implications that criticizing the development was equivalent to opposing national interests – by people they assert represent the developer.

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