A movement born from hardship, sustained by honesty, and celebrated by a community.
Dharavi is known as the largest slum of Asia — a town unto itself and a thriving industrial city. Dharavi has given enormous growth opportunities to new entrepreneurs. Several branded items are manufactured here, with labels fixed and sent to the Mumbai market for further distribution. Dharavi has cheap labour and good infrastructure at a lower cost. Remarkably, 80% of Dharavi's people are employed within Dharavi itself.
"15–20 years ago if you asked a taxi man to come to Dharavi he would refuse straight away. Dharavi was treated as a criminal area and educated youth were denied employment everywhere."
A group of passionate youths, united under the banner of Dharavi Kruti Samiti, began agitating for the rights of their people. Though the Samiti's momentum slowed once some key members found employment, the spirit of serving Dharavi lived on.
Most people in Dharavi performed odd jobs or served as class IV workers. Money lending was rampant — monthly interest of 5% to 10% meant borrowers paid almost 80% of their salary just in interest. Enough was enough.
The founding members — Mr. Ashok Devidas Khandare, Pandurang Namdeo Khandare, Maloji Ramkrishna Honkalas, Maruti Mahadeo Narayankar, Keshav Gopal Shinde, Keshav Nivruti Shinde, Machhindra Laxman Shinde, Amresh Tippaji Pol, Dattatray Hankare, Ashok Ingle and Jaganath Jadhav — decided to form a co-operative credit society to solve their community's financial problems themselves.
Collecting 250 members was a hard task. People were not ready to believe these young men could sustain an honest institution. Dalit Mitra Shri. Narayan Kadam (Kemkar), a renowned social worker, helped tremendously in persuading the community. Each founder contributed ₹500; social-minded individuals donated generously.
Finally, on 13th April 1987, The Dharavi Sahakari Patpedhi Ltd. was registered. Mr. Ashok Devidas Khandare became the first Chairman and Mr. Pandurang Namdeo Khandare became the first Secretary. Mr. Gopal Vithoba Shinde generously offered his home's mezzanine floor as the office — free of charge — for the early years.
The year 1992 was a turning point. The Patpedhi purchased its very first office at 2/18, Gulmohamed Chawl, Sant Kakkaya Road, Dharavi — inaugurated by the then All India Congress Secretary, Mr. Sushilkumar Shinde, on 4th April 1992. Growth accelerated dramatically thereafter.
The 1996 elections became legendary — ordinary members treated it like a Legislative Assembly election. The community's faith was validated: the sitting directors' panel won convincingly, establishing a culture of transparent, democratic governance.
By 2011, the Patpedhi celebrated its Silver Jubilee with a turnover of ₹6.60 Crores and over 20,578 members. The Registrar of Co-operative Societies began overseeing elections directly — a recognition of the institution's stature.