'Continued Colonial Violence': Nagaland CM Urges EAM Jaishankar To Halt Auction Of '19th Century Horned Naga Human Skull' In UK

After the Forum for Naga Reconciliation raised the issue of the auction of Naga ancestral human remains in the United Kingdom (UK), Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio wrote to External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar.

The letter seeks 'immediate attention and intervention' of India's Ministry of External Affairs as the news of the proposed auction has been received by all sections of society in a negative manner.

Asserting that the issue is 'highly emotional and sacred' for Naga people, Rio said that the traditional custom of Nagas is to give 'highest respect and honour for the remains of the demised'.

He stated that the human remains of any deceased person belong to those people and their land and its auctioning 'deeply hurts the sentiments of the people' as it is an act of 'dehumanisation' and continues 'colonial violence.'

Swan Fine Art at Oxfordshire in the UK has listed the ancestral human remains as a '19th century horned Naga human skull' for an auction scheduled today (9 October) with an estimated value of 3,500-4,000 UK pounds.

Rio urged Jaishankar to take up the matter with the Indian High Commission in the UK to take necessary steps to halt the auction and to protect the rights and emotions of the Naga people.