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Across several weeks, intimidating messages continued. Originally, allegedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, and then from the police themselves. Ultimately, a local artisan states he was ordered to the police station and told clearly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

The leather artisan is among those resisting a multimillion-dollar project where one of India's largest slums – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be demolished and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The unique ecosystem of Dharavi is exceptional in the globe," explains the protester. "But their intention is to eradicate our way of life and stop us speaking out."

Opposing Environments

The cramped lanes of the slum present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that overshadow the settlement. Residences are constructed informally and frequently missing basic amenities, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the air is saturated with the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

To some, the vision of the slum's redevelopment into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and residences with proper sanitation is an optimistic future realized.

"There's no proper healthcare, proper streets or drainage and we have no places for children to play," says a tea vendor, fifty-six, who relocated from Tamil Nadu in the early eighties. "The only way is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

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

None deny that the slum, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring investment and development. However they fear that this initiative – without resident participation – is one that will convert valuable urban land into an elite enclave, forcing out the marginalized, immigrant populations who have resided there since the nineteenth century.

This involved these marginalized, migrant workers who established the vacant wetlands into an extensively researched phenomenon of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose output is worth between one million dollars and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Among approximately one million residents living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer area, fewer than half will be qualified for alternative accommodation in the development, which is expected to take a significant period to complete. Additional residents will be transferred to barren areas and salt plains on the distant periphery of Mumbai, potentially break up a historic neighborhood. Some will be denied residences at all.

People eligible to remain in Dharavi will be given units in high-rise buildings, a major break from the organic, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has maintained this area for generations.

Commercial activities from tailoring to ceramic crafts and waste processing are likely to shrink in number and be moved to an allocated "commercial zone" distant from people's residences.

Existential Threat

In the case of Shaikh, a craftsman and multi-generational of his family to reside in the slum, the redevelopment presents an existential threat. His informal, three-storey workshop produces apparel – sharp blazers, luxury coats, decorated jackets – marketed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and internationally.

Relatives dwells in the spaces downstairs and his workers and garment workers – workers from north India – reside in the same building, enabling him to sustain operations. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often significantly costlier for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the administrative buildings in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the redevelopment plan illustrates an alternative outlook. Slickly dressed inhabitants gather on two-wheelers and e-vehicles, purchasing western-style bread and pastries and enlisting beverages on a patio outside a coffee shop and treat station. It is a complete departure from the affordable idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that supports local residents.

"This represents no improvement for residents," explains Shaikh. "This constitutes a massive property transaction that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

Additionally, there exists skepticism of the business conglomerate. Run by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and a close ally of the government head – the corporation has been subject to claims of preferential treatment and financial impropriety, which it rejects.

While the state government calls it a partnership, the corporation paid a significant amount for its majority share. A case alleging that the redevelopment was unfairly awarded to the business group is pending in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

Since they began to vocally oppose the project, local opponents state they have been experienced ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – involving messages, direct threats and insinuations that opposing the initiative was tantamount to anti-national sentiment – by individuals they allege work for the corporate group.

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