PRESS RELEASE

The Bread of Freedom
Celebrating 150 Years of the 1857 Freedom Struggle

150 years ago, the people of India rose in revolt against the East India Company, which having come as traders, stayed on to become rulers. In May 1857 sepoys of the East India Company marched to the Red Fort in Delhi to persuade Bahadurshah Zafar to lead them in their struggle for freedom from foreign rule. On the same day 150 years later, the National Celebrations to commemorate our First War of Independence will take place at the Red Fort on 11th May 2007.

During the 1857 rebellion, soldiers communicated messages of the uprising through passing a lotus wrapped in chapattis. To celebrate the role of the chapatti, roti, bread in our freedom struggle, Navdanya has been asked to organize the Chapati Bazaar, to celebrate the breads of India. The Bazaar will be a thematic food space selling 150 varieties of Indian bread and lotus based food items prepared in diverse ways reflecting the diversity of India’s food culture. Amongst the various breads Navdanya is preparing, there will be Bhakri, round flat unleavened bread often used in the cuisine of western and central India, especially in the states of Gujarat. We have Baati (a hard, unleavened bread cooked in desert areas of Rajasthan, Malwa and Gujarat in North India, which has an exceptionally long life) in the Breads of the Desert stall. Likewise, we have Luchi from Eastern India, Litti and Dalpuri from Bihar, Pesaret and Adai from South India, Aaska and Ragi roti from Uttaranchal, and many more.

The celebration of “Bread as Freedom” is an important part of Navdanya’s commitment to Food sovereignty. In 2000, Navdanya launched Anna Swaraj Movement (our bread is our freedom) in Meerut, where the movement for independence started. Food is a fundamental human right. The food security of a country rests on the ability of each of its farmers to produce food sustainably and each of its citizens to access adequate amounts of food.

We defend food freedom by defending the seed sovereignty of farmers, promoting organic farming, which uses lower inputs but gives higher outputs and defending the cultural diversity of our food. 150 kinds of bread celebrate 150 years of a freedom struggle. They also celebrate the rich food culture of India.

As we celebrate 150 years of India’s struggle for freedom, we also celebrate our food freedom and commit ourselves to protect it so that our future generations can taste the bread of freedom.

For more information, please contact

Navdanya
A-60 Hauz Khas, New Delhi – 110 016

Call us on 2653 2124 / 2696 8077
Email us at: navslow@yahoo.co.in, vshiva@vsnl.com