- 25 October -15 November 2013
- Open: Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Location: Heinrich Böll Foundation, Schumannstr. 8 , 10117 Berlin
- free entrance
If the soil could speak, it would recount the history of 1 Million landless Indians who are fighting for their rights to their land. Since 1989, these tens of thousands of Indians were mobilized by the massed based popular movement Ekta Parishad and have been demonstrating regularly throughout India. They demand for land reforms and adequate access to soils, water and forests from their government. More than 10,000 villages have taken part in the mass movement in the past years. Many of them rely on the food that they have cultivated themselves. However, their access to essential resources is not guaranteed by right of ownership and usage. The danger of losing their access to fertile land, potable water and the treasures of the forests is ever present.
The exhibition ‘Soil speaks’ tells of the struggle of a landless people for their rights. Through photographs, art installations, comic drawings and a documentary film, the exhibition shows what civic activism looks like in the biggest democracy in the world. This exhibition is organized jointly by the IASS Potsdam and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
The opening of the exhibition was embedded in the “Soil Day”, organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation on 25 October 2013. The photos show the plenary, exhibition and the opening with Ramesh Sharma, campaign coordinator for Ekta Parishad.
