Oxford University Returns 39 Human Remains Taken From Naga Community During Colonial Rule

The University of Oxford has returned the remains of 39 people taken from the Naga community in north-eastern India during British colonial rule.

The formal handover took place on Monday at the university's Pitt Rivers Museum, where a delegation of about 30 representatives from Nagaland attended the ceremony to receive the ancestral remains.

Most of the remains are skulls, which Naga tribal leaders say will be taken back to India and given a respectful burial. Plans are underway to place them in a joint memorial at a park in Nagaland.

Museum Describes Handover as Historic

The director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Laura Van Broekhoven, described the return as a historic moment that would be remembered by future generations.

She said the remains were finally on their way home after overcoming significant administrative challenges.

The museum formally handed over the remains and signed an agreement with Naga leaders during the ceremony on November 9, 2026.

The remains had been displayed at the museum for decades before being removed from public view in 2020 as part of its decolonisation process.

Remains Collected During Colonial Administration

The Pitt Rivers Museum holds more than 6,000 objects associated with Naga culture, believed to be the largest collection of its kind in the world.

Most of the objects were acquired during British colonial rule in India and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The museum's records list 219 items as human remains.

According to the museum, the remains were added to its collection between 1910 and 1940 and were largely collected by two colonial administrators who were also anthropologists.

The museum has acknowledged that objects collected during that period were frequently confiscated during punitive military expeditions rather than freely given.

During their visit to Oxford, the Naga delegation also met descendants of one of the anthropologists involved in collecting the remains.

Naga Leaders Welcome Return of Ancestral Remains

One of the tribal leaders, Thejao Vihienuo, questioned the circumstances under which the remains were taken from their ancestral land.

He told AFP that he doubted anyone would willingly give away the skull of a father or grandfather as a gift to another person.

Anthropologists have documented historical Naga practices involving the collection of enemy heads as trophies. They also noted that the heads of some Naga chiefs were traditionally kept at the centres of villages.

The latest handover covers only the 39 ancestral remains and follows a formal request made by a Naga delegation during a visit to Oxford in 2025.

The museum had announced in September that the remains would be returned to India.

The Pitt Rivers Museum, established in the 19th century, has previously returned human remains to Indigenous communities in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

BBC News