- By Nidhi Giri
- Wed, 09 Oct 2024 01:12 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Following an outcry in India, led by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, the UK auction house has withdrawn the ‘Naga Human Skull’ from its lots for a live online sale on Wednesday. The CM had written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asking him to intervene in the proposed auction. The CM termed the auction “dehumanising” and stated that it highlights “continued colonial violence”.
A ‘19th century horned Naga skull’ had been listed as one of the items on sale by prominent auction house The Swan at Tetsworth for an auction set to take place on October 9. It had been valued at £3,500-4,500. However, after objections arose over this, the item was no longer listed online as being up for auction as of Tuesday evening.
Rio wrote to Jaishankar on Tuesday after the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), an organisation comprising Church leaders and civil society representatives, wrote to him about the issue on Monday.
In his letter, the CM Rio wrote that the proposed auction was received “in a negative manner” by all sections of society in Nagaland “as it is a highly emotional and sacred issue for our people”.
“You will agree that the human remains of any deceased person belongs to those people and their land. Moreover, the auctioning of human remains deeply hurts the sentiments of the people, is an act of dehumanisation, and is considered as continued colonial violence upon our people,” Rio wrote.
Urging the MEA to take up the matter with the Indian High Commission in the UK and ensure that the auctioning is halted, he wrote, “We urge the Government of India to do everything possible to ensure that the rights and emotions of our people are protected.”