Threats, Fear and Hope as India's financial capital Residents Confront Demolition

Across several weeks, intimidating communications recurred. Originally, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and an ex-military commander, subsequently from the authorities. Ultimately, one resident states he was ordered to the local precinct and warned explicitly: keep quiet or face serious consequences.

The leather artisan is part of a group resisting a multimillion-dollar project where one of India's largest slums – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The culture of Dharavi is unparalleled in the planet," says Shaikh. "But their intention is to destroy our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Contrasting Realities

The cramped lanes of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the soaring skyscrapers and elite residences that overshadow the settlement. Homes are constructed informally and frequently without proper sanitation, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the environment is permeated by the suffocating smell of open sewers.

To some, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of high-end towers, neat parks, modern retail complexes and homes with proper sanitation is an aspirational dream realized.

"We lack adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or drainage and there are no spaces for children to play," explains A Selvin Nadar, 56, who relocated from Tamil Nadu in that period. "The only way is to clear the area and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

But others, like the leather artisan, are resisting the redevelopment.

None deny that this community, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need economic input and modernization. Yet they are concerned that this plan – absent of community input – is one that will transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, forcing out the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have been there since the late 1800s.

These were these marginalized, relocated individuals who developed the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose output is valued at between a significant amount and $2m annually, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about a million residents living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer neighborhood, less than 50% will be eligible for new homes in the project, which is expected to take an extended timeframe to complete. The remainder will be moved to wastelands and salt plains on the far outskirts of the city, threatening to break up a long-established social network. Certain individuals will receive no residences at all.

People eligible to continue living in the area will be provided units in multi-story structures, a significant rupture from the evolved, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has maintained the community for so long.

Businesses from clothing production to pottery and waste processing are projected to shrink in number and be moved to a specific "business area" far from homes.

Survival Challenge

For those such as this protester, a leather artisan and multi-generational of his family to live in Dharavi, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His informal, multi-level workshop produces leather coats – sharp blazers, suede trenches, fashionable garments – marketed in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and internationally.

Household members dwells in the spaces downstairs and employees and garment workers – migrants from different regions – reside on-site, enabling him to sustain operations. Outside the slum, Mumbai rents are often significantly as high for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

In the official facilities close by, an illustrated mock-up of the redevelopment plan illustrates a very different perspective. Fashionable inhabitants mill about on cycles and electric vehicles, purchasing continental baguettes and pastries and enlisting beverages on a patio adjacent to a restaurant and treat station. This represents a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar first meal and 5-rupee chai that supports local residents.

"This represents no development for our community," says the protester. "It's a huge real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the development company. Managed by an influential industrialist – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the national leader – the corporation has encountered allegations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

Even as the state government calls it a joint project, the developer paid a significant amount for its controlling interest. A lawsuit claiming that the project was unfairly awarded to the corporation is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Ongoing Pressure

Since they began to publicly resist the development, local opponents assert they have been subjected to a long-running campaign of pressure and threats – involving messages, direct threats and suggestions that criticizing the initiative was tantamount to opposing national interests – by people they claim work for the developer.

Included in these accused of delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c