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For months, threatening messages recurred. At first, allegedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, subsequently from the authorities. Ultimately, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh states he was summoned to law enforcement headquarters and warned explicitly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

Shaikh is one of many fighting a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan where one of India's largest slums – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of the slum is unparalleled in the globe," explains the protester. "However their intention is to eradicate our social fabric and silence our voices."

Contrasting Realities

The dank gullies of this community sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and elite residences that overshadow the settlement. Residences are assembled randomly and frequently missing basic amenities, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the air is filled with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

To some, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of luxury high-rises, neat parks, contemporary malls and homes with two toilets is a hopeful vision realized.

"There's no sufficient health services, proper streets or sewage systems and we have no places for children to play," explains a tea vendor, fifty-six, who relocated from southern India in the early eighties. "The only way is to tear it all down and build us new homes."

Resident Opposition

However, some, like the leather artisan, are opposing the plan.

None deny that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring investment and development. Yet they worry that this plan – without resident participation – is one that will transform premium city property into an elite enclave, displacing the marginalized, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

These were these marginalized, relocated individuals who developed the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose production is worth between $1m and $2m annually, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the crowded 220-hectare area, fewer than half will be qualified for alternative accommodation in the project, which is expected to take an extended timeframe to finish. The remainder will be moved to wastelands and saline fields on the distant periphery of the metropolis, potentially divide a generations-old social network. Some will be denied residences at all.

People eligible to stay in Dharavi will be allocated flats in multi-story structures, a major break from the natural, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has sustained Dharavi for generations.

Businesses from garment work to ceramic crafts and recycling are projected to decrease in quantity and be moved to a specific "industrial sector" far from homes.

Survival Challenge

For residents like the leather artisan, a workshop owner and multi-generational of his family to call home this community, the plan presents a survival challenge. His makeshift, three-floor facility produces leather coats – formal jackets, suede trenches, fashionable garments – sold in high-end shops in the city's affluent areas and internationally.

His family lives in the spaces below and his workers and tailors – workers from other states – reside in the same building, permitting him to afford their labour. Outside this community, housing costs are frequently 10 times as high for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

Within the official facilities nearby, an illustrated mock-up of the transformation initiative depicts an alternative vision for the future. Well-groomed people mill about on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, buying western-style baked goods and pastries and enlisting beverages on a patio near Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. It is a complete departure from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that supports Dharavi's community.

"This is not development for our community," states the artisan. "It represents a huge land development that will render it impossible for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's distrust of the development company. Managed by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and an associate of the Indian prime minister – the business group has faced accusations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

Even as the state government labels it a partnership, the business group contributed $950m for its 80% stake. A case claiming that the project was questionably assigned to the business group is pending in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

After they started to vocally oppose the development, local opponents claim they have been faced ongoing efforts of harassment and intimidation – including phone calls, explicit warnings and insinuations that speaking against the initiative was tantamount to opposing national interests – by figures they allege are associated with the developer.

Part of the group alleged to have making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c