Community Profiles
We created 25 community profiles for the project. The idea of community profiles emerged out of the tremendous support received from the youth of Dharavi. Whilst their involvement was informal, through the process we realized that each of these individuals had stories of their own; they belonged to groups with unique characteristics & history, traditional occupations, religious and political affiliations.
It was this that prompted us to undertake profiling based on these very aspects, including occupational sectors, given that Dharavi has a huge informal employment sector. The aim is to track the changes in the social fabric of the area and get a sense of the changing attitudes to traditional occupational forms.
KUMBHARWADA
Kumbharwada developed over a period of time, starting in late 19th century where people form Saurashtra, Gujarat came to Mumbai, after the drought in the area. They migrated in search for jobs and start a new life. Today it is the 4th generation of the potters living in Dharavi. They were pushed to different part of Mumbai from Girgaum to Parel and later they were allotted a land at edge of island city in Dharavi. Approximately about 1000 to 1200 potter families currently live in Dharavi.
Like may others in Kumbharwada, Arvindbhai too is furious about his future in here. He feels that government authorities never taken the community people into confidence about the redevelopment process. He complains that as yet nobody has talked to him or his family about the redevelopment project, and they are hearing stories about it from different people. And with glitter he challenges that nothing is going to change in Kumbharwada.
CHAMDA BAZAAR
This is a settlement since British times with a population of about one lakh. The area boundary begins from Bagicha Road to Dharavi restaurant and also includes Butiwadi and Ajaswadi. The majority of the population in this neighborhood is Muslim and hails from the state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Muslims in this community belong to Other Backward Castes comprising of caste profiles like Ansari, Sheikh, Pathan, Sayyad recognizing that as Muslim in India also have hierarchies in castes. The majority of the people feel that government does not provide any reservation concessions to them, despite having legal proofs (OBC certificate), and avoid them because they are Muslims. Their opinion is that government employees don’t have good salaries and hence resort to other means of income. A resident from the community quotes, “The government takes our votes but does nothing for us, treats us like untouchables and this affects the entire community and the settlement”.
The main occupation involves salting leather/hide, some work as tailors, some are in to making garments and carpets, some are turners, fitters while others sell vegetables. Muslim women don’t work and are mostly housewives as only men in our community work but now some broad minded houses send their women to work on a part time basis like the interviewee’s daughter teaches in a anganwadi.
KALA KILLA
Kalakilla (Rewa Fort) has been in existence for a longtime, since rule of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The British however took it over and the fort was ultimately handed over to the Governor of Mumbai in 1737. The chawls in this area have evolved over many years. People in the locality believe there used to be a secret passage from Kalakilla to Sion Fort, however, there is no actual proof of its existence. The population here ranges approximately from 3,000 to 3,500 people. The land on which the Dharavi Bus Depot, Maharashtra Nature Park and PMGP Colony lies on was once a large garbage dumping ground and a marshy area adjoining the creek. This was gradually reclaimed by the residents. The bus depot and nature park was built around 1960. The approach road from the entrance to the actual fort walls was built in 1957, which was after independence. Before that however, the British Government constructed 10-20 fire hydrants in 1920.
Since 1950, people from across India have been settling around the fort in search of work. After the construction of roads and schools in 1960-65, different social organizations began cropping up. A social organization named ‘Lok Sewa Mandal’ is one such organization that serves the community by providing vocational training and a space for community programmes. Near the entrance of Kalakilla is a municipality school which caters to the residents. ‘Warkari Saptaah Sohla’ is a festival celebrated by a group of people who believe in Lord Vithal Rukhmani which has a famous temple in Solapur, Maharashtra called Pandarpur. Dyaneshwar was a saint who had translated the Bhagwadgita into a local language known as ‘Prakrut’ so that people would be able to understand the scriptures. This ‘Dyaneshwari’ as it is now locally called, is read aloud through the seven day festival.
Caste Profiles
During the course of the study in dharavi, we noticed that significant importance was given caste systems in the daily practices of the lives of the community. Hence, we decided to document a few prevalent ones and created 5 caste profiles.
KUNCHIKORVE
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME)
One cannot miss the various kinds of work that goes on in Dharavi. It is an industrious neighbourhood, where people are constantly up to some work, at continuous shifts, extending way beyond the regular working hours. We documented few of this trades and industries to learn more about these small and medium scale enterprises that have existed for the past few decades – and make the world take notice of their productivity, ingeniousness and entrepreneurial spirit.
FOOD INDUSTRY
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
The textile industry in dharavi is made of many different components, from zari work to preparing shirts and jeans. This industry mostly employees child labour mostly from the age of 12 to 13 years. After being trained for about six months to two years, depending on their ability to learn the art different kinds of embroidery is taken up and based on the sample, they procure orders from Dadar and Malad regions of Mumbai – which are sent outside Mumbai once the work is done.
Most workers in this industry hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal regions. Zari work is a craft to be learnt in childhood and is not something one can pick up as an adult. It involves working for about 10 to 12 hours a day and earning Rs 200 to Ra 250 per day but the working conditions are pathetic. They have to sit in a particular position which invites backache and as the job involves intricate work, eyes are also affected.
LEATHER INDUSTRY
The Leather Industry is situated in Chamda Bazaar neighborhood of Dharavi, where hides of goats, lambs, bulls and buffaloes are salted and processed. This hide is procured from the Deonar abattoir for a small amount of 50 Rs after which it is salted and dried and different leather goods are made from hides of goats, lambs, bulls and buffaloes.
No concessions are given to this business by the state or rather many difficulties have to be faced as raw hides mean a lot of blood in and out of the area and that invites the wrath of the cops. After the first process, it takes about a month to make the ready product. After salting, all subsequent processes are done at Chennai, the largest market catering to international and local buyers. India has largely a hot and humid weather, and leather is not used in large quantities locally hence the best variety of leather is exported abroad and also it is unaffordable for Indian market.
POTTERY INDUSTRY
RECYCLING INDUSTRY
