Intimidation, Fear and Optimism as India's financial capital Residents Confront Demolition

Over an extended period, intimidating phone calls persisted. Originally, reportedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, and then from the police themselves. Finally, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was ordered to the police station and told clearly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those fighting a multimillion-dollar initiative where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be demolished and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of this area is like nowhere else in the world," states the resident. "However they want to eradicate our social fabric and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of Dharavi stand in sharp opposition to the towering buildings and luxury apartments that dominate the area. Residences are assembled randomly and often lacking adequate facilities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

To some, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of premium apartments, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and apartments with two toilets is an aspirational dream come true.

"We lack adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or water management and we have no places for children to play," explains a chai seller, 56, who migrated from his home state in that period. "The single option is to demolish everything and build us new homes."

Local Protest

Yet certain residents, like Shaikh, are opposing the redevelopment.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. Yet they fear that this initiative – lacking public consultation – is one that will convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, forcing out the marginalized, immigrant populations who have resided there since the nineteenth century.

These were these excluded, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of community resilience and economic productivity, whose economic value is estimated at between $1m and two million dollars a year, making it one of the world's largest unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Of the roughly a million inhabitants living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer area, fewer than half will be qualified for alternative accommodation in the development, which is estimated to take a significant period to complete. Additional residents will be relocated to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the remote edges of the city, threatening to fragment a generations-old social network. Certain individuals will not get residences at all.

People eligible to remain in the neighborhood will be provided units in high-rise buildings, a significant rupture from the evolved, collective approach of living and working that has supported this area for so long.

Commercial activities from tailoring to ceramic crafts and waste processing are expected to shrink in number and be moved to an allocated "business area" far from homes.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of Shaikh, a workshop owner and third generation resident to live in Dharavi, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, three-floor workshop makes leather coats – sharp blazers, suede trenches, fashionable garments – distributed in luxury boutiques in the city's affluent areas and overseas.

His family lives in the accommodations underneath and laborers and tailors – migrants from other states – also sleep there, permitting him to afford their labour. Outside this community, Mumbai rents are often significantly as high for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

In the official facilities in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project shows a contrasting perspective. Well-groomed residents mill about on two-wheelers and e-vehicles, purchasing international bread and breakfast items and socializing on a terrace outside Dharavi Cafe and treat station. This represents a stark contrast from the affordable idli sambar morning meal and budget beverage that supports the neighborhood.

"This represents no development for residents," states the artisan. "It's an enormous land development that will make it unaffordable for us to survive."

There is also concern of the development company. Run by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a close ally of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has encountered allegations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

Even as the state government describes it as a collaborative effort, the developer contributed a significant amount for its 80% stake. A case alleging that the project was questionably assigned to the developer is being considered in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

Since they began to vocally oppose the redevelopment, local opponents state they have been experienced ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – comprising phone calls, direct threats and insinuations that opposing the development was equivalent to anti-national sentiment – by figures they claim work for the business conglomerate.

Among those suspected of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c