Oxford agrees to return 39 Naga ancestral remains to Nagaland
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Where it stands
The return of 39 Naga ancestral remains from Oxford is agreed but not yet complete. On 13 July 2026 the University of Oxford Council agreed to return the remains held in its Pitt Rivers Museum. British colonial administrators took the remains in the early 1900s. The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and the Naga Tribe Hohos announced the decision in Dimapur on 5 September 2026. The museum left out one further set of unclear Naga origin. A Naga delegation will travel to Oxford for a handover ceremony. The New York Times reported the handover is planned for November 2026. The museum says the date is still being agreed. The remains will then be buried together at one site in Nagaland.
Background
The Pitt Rivers Museum holds the largest collection of Naga material in the world. John Henry Hutton and James Philip Mills brought most of the ancestral remains to Oxford in the early 1900s. Both men were British colonial administrators. Both wrote as anthropologists. The museum says some remains were seized during punitive military expeditions. The museum displayed some Naga remains for decades. In 2020 the museum said such displays fed racist stereotypes about other cultures. In June 2025 the museum counted 41 Naga ancestral remains in the collection. The museum also listed 178 objects containing or possibly containing human hair.
How it developed
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Summer 2020 to 13 June 2025How it started
Oxford museum takes human remains off display. The Naga return process starts.
In the summer of 2020 the Pitt Rivers Museum removed 120 human remains from open display. The removed items included Naga ancestral remains. The museum reopened in September 2020 with those remains in storage. The museum said the displays had reinforced racist stereotypes. Naga anthropologist Dolly Kikon then wrote to museum director Laura Van Broekhoven. The museum then asked the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) to help coordinate the return. In 2021 the FNR formed Recover, Restore and Decolonise (RRaD). RRaD volunteers consulted tribe hohos, churches and students across the Naga homeland. From 8 to 14 June 2025 a Naga delegation visited the museum. On 13 June 2025 nine Naga leaders signed the Naga Oxford Declaration on Repatriation.
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13 July 2026, announced 5 September 2026New fact
Oxford Council agrees to return 39 Naga ancestral remains
On 13 July 2026 the University of Oxford Council formally agreed to return 39 Naga ancestral remains. Museum director Laura Van Broekhoven conveyed the decision in a letter to FNR convener Rev Dr Wati Aier. The Naga claim covered 40 sets. The Council left out one set of unclear Naga origin. The FNR, RRaD and Naga Tribe Hoho leaders announced the decision in Dimapur on 5 September 2026. Van Broekhoven said this will be the museum's largest return of human remains.
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5 September 2026New fact
Naga delegation to bring the remains home. Handover date not yet fixed.
A delegation led by the Naga Tribe Hohos and FNR-RRaD will travel to the Pitt Rivers Museum. The museum will hold a handover ceremony in Oxford. The delegation will then accompany the remains to Dimapur, Nagaland. The New York Times reported the handover is planned for November 2026. The museum says the date is still being agreed with the Nagas. Angami Public Organisation president Thejao Vihienuo said the bodies are seeking a site from the Nagaland state government.
Why it matters for UPSC
For GS1 (Art and Culture, modern history) this is a return of human remains, not of artefacts. Keep two international texts apart. The UNESCO 1970 Convention deals with the illicit import, export and transfer of cultural property. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007 (UNDRIP) speaks directly of the repatriation of human remains. UNDRIP is a declaration, not a treaty. The return is agreed, not completed.
Key terms
Sources (4)
- Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford · official · Naga Delegation Visits Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford (press release, 10 June 2025)6 Sep, 1:15 am
- Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford · official · Critical Changes: removal of human remains from display, 20206 Sep, 1:15 am
- ThePrint · Nagas become first Indian indigenous community to bring back ancestral remains from England (5 September 2026)6 Sep, 1:15 am
- Scroll.in · Oxford University agrees to repatriate 39 Naga ancestral human remains taken during colonial rule (5 September 2026)6 Sep, 1:15 am