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Across several weeks, coercive messages continued. Originally, reportedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, subsequently from law enforcement directly. Finally, one resident states he was ordered to the police station and told clearly: remain silent or face serious consequences.

This third-generation resident is part of a group resisting a high-value initiative where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – faces razed and transformed by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of Dharavi is unparalleled in the world," states the protester. "But they want to dismantle our way of life and stop us speaking out."

Opposing Environments

The cramped lanes of the slum sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and elite residences that overshadow the neighborhood. Residences are built haphazardly and often without proper sanitation, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the atmosphere is saturated with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

For certain residents, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of luxury high-rises, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and residences with two toilets is an aspirational dream achieved.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or drainage and we have no places for children to play," says a chai seller, in his fifties, who migrated from his home state in the early eighties. "The single option is to tear it all down and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

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

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, long neglected as informal housing, is desperately requiring investment and development. But they fear that this plan – lacking community input – is one that will turn valuable urban land into a playground for the rich, forcing out the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have lived there since generations ago.

This involved these excluded, migrant workers who established the empty marshland into an extensively researched phenomenon of local enterprise and commercial output, whose production is worth between a significant amount and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Relocation Worries

Out of about 1 million residents living in the crowded sprawling zone, less than 50% will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is expected to take a significant period to finish. Others will be transferred to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the far outskirts of the city, threatening to break up a historic social network. A portion will receive no housing at all.

People eligible to continue living in the area will be allocated units in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the organic, collective approach of living and working that has supported the community for generations.

Businesses from tailoring to pottery and recycling are likely to reduce in scale and be transferred to a designated "business area" separated from residential areas.

Existential Threat

In the case of Shaikh, a craftsman and third generation of his family to reside in this community, the project presents a fundamental risk. His informal, multi-level workshop produces leather coats – formal jackets, premium outerwear, decorated jackets – marketed in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and abroad.

Relatives lives in the accommodations below and employees and tailors – migrants from different regions – reside in the same building, permitting him to afford their labour. Beyond this community, accommodation prices are typically tenfold more expensive for a single room.

Pressure and Coercion

At the government offices close by, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project illustrates a contrasting vision for the future. Well-groomed inhabitants mill about on cycles and e-vehicles, buying western-style baked goods and croissants and having coffee on an outdoor area near Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This represents a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that maintains the neighborhood.

"This represents no improvement for our community," explains Shaikh. "It represents a massive real estate deal that will price people out for residents to remain."

Additionally, there exists concern of the development company. Managed by an influential industrialist – one of India's most powerful and an associate of the national leader – the business group has been subject to claims of preferential treatment and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

Although local authorities calls it a partnership, the business group paid nearly a billion dollars for its controlling interest. A lawsuit claiming that the redevelopment was unfairly awarded to the corporation is pending in India's supreme court.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to actively protest the development, Shaikh and other residents claim they have been experienced an extended period of harassment and intimidation – including phone calls, clear intimidation and suggestions that opposing the initiative was equivalent to opposing national interests – by figures they claim are associated with the corporate group.

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