ABSTRACT
Some of the major NGO players in the field of slum redevelopment emerged in the early 1980s in response to the internal contradictions of the government's slum policies. This chapter discusses the mass demolitions of 1980-81 and the rise of three important NGOs that emerge in response to this event. It is interesting to note that these NGOs did not respond to the mass demolitions of 2004-05 in the same way. There are associations that take up the challenge of public protest but it is no longer any of the NGOs that are established in the field. In the slums of Bombay, NGOs have played an important role in the constitution of the 'slum voice'. They have supported efforts to organize at the local level and through their intervention many community-based organizations have developed cultures of democracy.
