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Across several weeks, threatening phone calls persisted. Initially, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, subsequently from the authorities. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was called to the local precinct and instructed bluntly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is part of a group fighting a expensive initiative where this historic settlement – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – faces razed and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of the slum is like nowhere else in the globe," explains Shaikh. "Yet the plan aims to destroy our community and prevent our protests."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of this community sit in stark contrast to the high-rise structures and elite residences that dominate the settlement. Dwellings are constructed informally and often without proper sanitation, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the prospect of the slum's redevelopment into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and homes with multiple bathrooms is an optimistic future achieved.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, roads or drainage and there are no spaces for children to play," explains A Selvin Nadar, fifty-six, who relocated from Tamil Nadu in 1982. "The only way is to clear the area and construct proper housing."

Local Protest

But others, such as the leather artisan, are opposing the plan.

None deny that this community, historically ignored as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring investment and development. Yet they worry that this plan – absent of resident participation – might transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into an elite enclave, evicting the marginalized, migrant communities who have lived there since the late 1800s.

This involved these shunned, displaced people who built up the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose economic value is worth between a significant amount and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Resettlement Issues

Of the roughly one million people living in the packed 2.2 square kilometer area, less than 50% will be eligible for alternative accommodation in the redevelopment, which is expected to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the distant periphery of the city, risking fragment a generations-old social network. A portion will receive no residences at all.

People eligible to stay in Dharavi will be allocated apartments in multi-story structures, a significant rupture from the organic, communal way of living and working that has supported Dharavi for many years.

Commercial activities from tailoring to pottery and material recovery are projected to reduce in scale and be relocated to a designated "business area" distant from people's residences.

Existential Threat

For residents like this protester, a leather artisan and long-time resident to call home Dharavi, the plan presents an existential threat. His rickety, multi-level facility creates garments – formal jackets, luxury coats, decorated jackets – sold in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and internationally.

His family lives in the rooms underneath and laborers and garment workers – laborers from north India – also sleep in the same building, permitting him to manage costs. Away from the slum, housing costs are often significantly as high for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

Within the administrative buildings close by, a visual representation of the Dharavi project illustrates a very different vision for the future. Slickly dressed residents mill about on cycles and electric vehicles, acquiring international baguettes and croissants and enlisting beverages on a patio outside a coffee shop and Ice-Cream. This represents a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that supports the neighborhood.

"This is not progress for our community," explains Shaikh. "It's a massive real estate deal that will price people out for residents to remain."

There is also distrust of the corporate group. Run by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a close ally of the national leader – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

Although administrative bodies labels it a collaborative effort, the business group paid $950m for its 80% stake. A case claiming that the project was unfairly awarded to the business group is being considered in the top court.

Continued Intimidation

Since they began to publicly resist the development, Shaikh and other residents state they have been faced ongoing efforts of harassment and intimidation – including communications, explicit warnings and implications that criticizing the development was tantamount to anti-national sentiment – by people they claim work for the developer.

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