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Across several weeks, coercive messages continued. Initially, reportedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, later from the authorities. Finally, one resident states he was summoned to the police station and told clearly: keep quiet or experience severe repercussions.

The leather artisan is one of many resisting a high-value redevelopment plan where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – will be razed and transformed by a large business group.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is like nowhere else in the planet," says the resident. "But they want to eradicate our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of this community present a dramatic difference to the high-rise structures and elite residences that dominate the area. Homes are constructed informally and frequently without proper sanitation, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the environment is filled with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

To some, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and apartments with multiple bathrooms is an optimistic future come true.

"There's no proper healthcare, proper streets or water management and we have no places for youth to recreate," says A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who migrated from southern India in that period. "The single option is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Local Protest

However, some, including this protester, are opposing the plan.

All recognize that this community, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need investment and development. Yet they are concerned that this initiative – absent of resident participation – is one that will convert valuable urban land into a luxury development, forcing out the marginalized, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

This involved these shunned, relocated individuals who developed the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and commercial output, whose production is worth between a significant amount and a substantial sum annually, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately one million people living in the packed 220-hectare area, a minority will be qualified for replacement housing in the development, which is expected to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the distant periphery of the metropolis, potentially divide a historic community. Certain individuals will receive no residences at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the neighborhood will be given apartments in tower blocks, a major break from the organic, collective approach of living and working that has sustained this area for generations.

Industries from clothing production to pottery and waste processing are likely to reduce in scale and be relocated to an allocated "industrial sector" separated from people's residences.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of this protester, a craftsman and third generation resident to live in the slum, the redevelopment presents a survival challenge. His rickety, three-storey operation creates apparel – sharp blazers, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – sold in luxury boutiques in upscale neighborhoods and internationally.

His family resides in the rooms below and laborers and sewers – workers from other states – also sleep there, permitting him to manage costs. Away from the slum, accommodation prices are typically tenfold more expensive for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

Within the government offices in the vicinity, a visual representation of the transformation initiative depicts a very different perspective. Well-groomed people move around on cycles and electric vehicles, purchasing continental baguettes and pastries and having coffee on a terrace outside a restaurant and Ice-Cream. This represents a world away from the affordable idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that maintains the neighborhood.

"This represents no development for us," says the artisan. "It's a massive real estate deal that will render it impossible for us to survive."

Additionally, there exists concern of the development company. Managed by an influential industrialist – a leading figure and a close ally of the government head – the corporation has faced accusations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

While administrative bodies describes it as a partnership, the developer invested nearly a billion dollars for its controlling interest. A lawsuit stating that the initiative was unfairly awarded to the developer is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Ongoing Pressure

After they started to actively protest the development, Shaikh and other residents state they have been experienced a long-running campaign of pressure and threats – involving phone calls, direct threats and implications that speaking against the project was tantamount to opposing national interests – by figures they allege work for the developer.

Included in these alleged to have issuing the threats is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c