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Over an extended period, threatening phone calls continued. Initially, reportedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, subsequently from the authorities. In the end, a local artisan asserts he was ordered to the police station and instructed bluntly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

The leather artisan is part of a group fighting a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan where Dharavi – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – faces razed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is like nowhere else in the planet," says the protester. "However they want to destroy our way of life and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The cramped lanes of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the area. Dwellings are constructed informally and often lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the atmosphere is saturated with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

For certain residents, the promise of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of high-end towers, well-maintained green spaces, modern retail complexes and apartments with two toilets is an optimistic future achieved.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, proper streets or water management and we have no places for children to play," states a chai seller, in his fifties, who moved from Tamil Nadu in 1982. "The sole solution is to clear the area and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

Yet certain residents, including the leather artisan, are fighting against the plan.

None deny that this community, consistently overlooked as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring financial support and improvement. Yet they worry that this initiative – lacking resident participation – is one that will transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, displacing the marginalized, migrant communities who have resided there since the late 1800s.

It was these marginalized, migrant workers who developed the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and commercial output, whose output is estimated at between $1m and $2m per year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately 1 million people living in the packed 2.2 square kilometer area, less than 50% will be able for alternative accommodation in the development, which is expected to take seven years to finish. Others will be transferred to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the city, potentially break up a long-established social network. Some will not get homes at all.

Those allowed to stay in Dharavi will be provided units in tower blocks, a major break from the natural, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has sustained this area for generations.

Businesses from clothing production to clay work and material recovery are projected to shrink in number and be relocated to a designated "industrial sector" distant from homes.

Survival Challenge

In the case of the leather artisan, a leather artisan and long-time resident to live in Dharavi, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His informal, three-floor facility creates apparel – formal jackets, suede trenches, fashionable garments – marketed in premium stores in the city's affluent areas and abroad.

His family lives in the spaces below and employees and tailors – laborers from different regions – reside there, permitting him to afford their labour. Away from Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often 10 times more expensive for a single room.

Pressure and Coercion

At the official facilities in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project depicts a very different perspective. Well-groomed inhabitants move around on cycles and eco-friendly transport, purchasing continental baguettes and breakfast items and having coffee on an outdoor area outside a coffee shop and treat station. This represents a stark contrast from the inexpensive idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that maintains local residents.

"This represents no development for our community," explains Shaikh. "It's a massive real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the development company. Headed by a powerful tycoon – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the national leader – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and ethical concerns, which it denies.

Even as local authorities describes it as a joint project, the corporation paid a significant amount for its 80% stake. A lawsuit claiming that the project was improperly granted to the corporation is pending in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to vocally oppose the project, local opponents state they have been experienced ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – including messages, direct threats and suggestions that criticizing the project was equivalent to speaking against the country – by individuals they assert work for the developer.

Included in these suspected of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c