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For months, coercive phone calls recurred. Originally, allegedly from a retired cop and an ex-military commander, subsequently from law enforcement directly. Finally, a local artisan claims he was called to law enforcement headquarters and told clearly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

Shaikh is one of many fighting a multimillion-dollar project where this historic settlement – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – will be demolished and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of the slum is unparalleled in the planet," states the protester. "But the plan aims to dismantle our social fabric and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the towering buildings and elite residences that loom over the area. Dwellings are constructed informally and typically missing basic amenities, informal businesses release harmful emissions and the air is permeated by the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

Among some individuals, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a modern district of premium apartments, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and residences with two toilets is a hopeful vision achieved.

"There's no sufficient health services, roads or drainage and there are no spaces for youth to recreate," states a tea vendor, fifty-six, who moved from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and build us new homes."

Resident Opposition

However, some, such as this protester, are resisting the project.

None deny that the slum, consistently overlooked as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need investment and development. Yet they worry that this project – absent of public consultation – is one that will convert valuable urban land into an elite enclave, evicting the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have been there since the nineteenth century.

This involved these shunned, migrant workers who developed the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of local enterprise and business activity, whose output is worth between $1m and a substantial sum annually, making it one of the world's largest unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer area, a minority will be eligible for new homes in the redevelopment, which is projected to take an extended timeframe to finish. The remainder will be transferred to barren areas and salt plains on the far outskirts of the city, risking divide a long-established community. A portion will receive no homes at all.

Those allowed to stay in Dharavi will be given units in multi-story structures, a major break from the organic, shared lifestyle of dwelling and laboring that has maintained Dharavi for so long.

Businesses from tailoring to clay work and recycling are expected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to an allocated "industrial sector" far from people's residences.

Existential Threat

For those such as this protester, a workshop owner and long-time resident to reside in the slum, the redevelopment presents a survival challenge. His informal, three-storey operation makes apparel – sharp blazers, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – distributed in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and internationally.

Household members dwells in the spaces underneath and his workers and sewers – workers from north India – live on-site, enabling him to manage costs. Away from the slum, housing costs are typically tenfold as high for minimal space.

Pressure and Coercion

Within the government offices in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the redevelopment plan depicts a very different vision for the future. Fashionable inhabitants mill about on cycles and eco-friendly transport, purchasing international baked goods and breakfast items and enlisting beverages on a patio outside Dharavi Cafe and treat station. It is a stark contrast from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and budget beverage that maintains Dharavi's community.

"This isn't improvement for us," explains the protester. "It's a massive land development that will render it impossible for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's concern of the business conglomerate. Headed by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and an associate of the government head – the business group has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it denies.

Although local authorities describes it as a partnership, the business group invested a significant amount for its controlling interest. Legal proceedings stating that the project was questionably assigned to the business group is under review in India's supreme court.

Ongoing Pressure

After they started to actively protest the project, protesters and community members state they have been subjected to a long-running campaign of harassment and intimidation – involving phone calls, direct threats and implications that opposing the project was tantamount to speaking against the country – by individuals they assert are associated with the business conglomerate.

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