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For months, coercive phone calls continued. Initially, allegedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, and then from the police themselves. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh asserts he was called to the local precinct and told clearly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

Shaikh is one of many opposing a expensive project where this historic settlement – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – faces razed and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is unparalleled in the planet," states the protester. "But they want to eradicate our social fabric and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of Dharavi stand in sharp opposition to the towering buildings and elite residences that dominate the neighborhood. Residences are built haphazardly and frequently without proper sanitation, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the air is permeated by the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

Among some individuals, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of premium apartments, well-maintained green spaces, shiny shopping centers and homes with two toilets is an optimistic future achieved.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or drainage and we have no places for kids to enjoy," says A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who relocated from southern India in the early eighties. "The single option is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Resident Opposition

However, some, like this protester, are fighting against the redevelopment.

None deny that the slum, consistently overlooked as informal housing, is in stark need financial support and improvement. But they are concerned that this plan – absent of resident participation – could potentially turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, displacing the lower-caste, migrant communities who have lived there since the late 1800s.

This involved these marginalized, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose production is estimated at between one million dollars and $2m per year, making it a major informal economies.

Displacement Concerns

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer zone, a minority will be qualified for new homes in the redevelopment, which is expected to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to barren areas and salt plains on the far outskirts of the metropolis, threatening to divide a long-established neighborhood. Some will be denied housing at all.

Residents permitted to stay in Dharavi will be allocated flats in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the natural, collective approach of dwelling and laboring that has sustained the community for so long.

Businesses from garment work to ceramic crafts and material recovery are expected to reduce in scale and be transferred to an allocated "business area" separated from people's residences.

Livelihood Crisis

For residents like this protester, a craftsman and third generation of his family to call home Dharavi, the project presents an existential threat. His rickety, three-storey facility creates garments – formal jackets, suede trenches, decorated jackets – sold in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and internationally.

His family lives in the rooms below and laborers and sewers – laborers from different regions – live in the same building, allowing him to manage costs. Outside Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often 10 times costlier for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

At the administrative buildings close by, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project illustrates a very different vision for the future. Well-groomed people mill about on bicycles and electric vehicles, purchasing international baked goods and breakfast items and socializing on a patio near a coffee shop and treat station. This represents a stark contrast from the affordable idli sambar morning meal and budget beverage that maintains Dharavi's community.

"This represents no improvement for our community," states the protester. "It's a huge land development that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

There is also distrust of the development company. Managed by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and an associate of the national leader – the corporation has faced accusations of crony capitalism and financial impropriety, which it denies.

Although local authorities calls it a collaborative effort, the developer paid a significant amount for its controlling interest. A case claiming that the initiative was questionably assigned to the developer is under review in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to vocally oppose the redevelopment, protesters and community members claim they have been subjected to a long-running campaign of coercion and warning – comprising phone calls, direct threats and implications that criticizing the initiative was tantamount to speaking against the country – by people they assert work for the corporate group.

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