Oxford University has agreed to return to India the remains of 39 people from the Naga community, which were removed from the country during the period of British colonial rule. The material is part of the collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum, an anthropology, ethnology, and archaeology institution linked to the British university.
The decision was made after Oxford approved a restitution request submitted by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and other community organizations, which is located mainly in northeastern India. The university authorized the repatriation in July and is now working with local representatives to organize the handover ceremony, with no date yet set.
The director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Laura van Broekhoven, told the AFP news agency that the remains have been far from their homeland for a long time, acknowledging the historical and cultural importance of the return for the Naga community.
