Oxford University to Return Remains of 39 Indians Taken During Colonial Era

Oxford University has agreed to return the remains of 39 individuals taken from India during Britain’s colonial administration, marking another significant step in the ongoing international effort to address the legacies of imperial rule.

The Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford announced this week that it will repatriate human remains belonging to members of the Naga community from northeast India. The decision follows a formal request from the Forum for Naga Reconciliation and allied organizations representing the Naga people.

Museum director Laura Van Broekhoven stated that these remains “have been away from their homeland for far too long.” The university approved the return of 39 sets of remains in July, declining one request due to unclear provenance regarding its Naga origins. The initial petition had covered 40 sets of human remains.

For the Naga community, this repatriation carries profound significance beyond the physical return of ancestral remains. Representatives from the Forum for Naga Reconciliation and associated Naga organizations emphasized that the repatriation represents “memory returning to where it belongs,” not merely the physical transportation of remains across continents.

The Pitt Rivers Museum currently holds more than 6,000 Naga artifacts in its collections. However, Dr. Ellen Konyak Jamir, a member of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation and coordinator for Recover Restore and Decolonise, has indicated that recovering these additional artifacts involves considerable complexity and does not constitute their immediate priority. A handover ceremony date has not yet been established, though museum officials report they are working closely with Naga community leaders to arrange appropriate protocols.

The Pitt Rivers Museum, recognized internationally as a leading institution for anthropology, ethnology, and archaeology, has faced significant scrutiny in recent years regarding its display practices and the ethical implications of its collections. In 2020, the museum removed approximately 120 human remains from public display, including shrunken heads known as tsantsas, Naga trophy heads, and an Egyptian child mummy.

Van Broekhoven acknowledged at that time that audience research revealed disturbing patterns in visitor interpretation. Many viewers, the research showed, perceived displays of human remains as evidence of other cultures being savage, primitive, or gruesome. Rather than fostering cross-cultural understanding, these exhibits reinforced stereotypical thinking fundamentally at odds with the museum’s stated values.

This Oxford agreement represents one chapter in a broader international movement gaining momentum across Western institutions. Universities and museums throughout Europe and North America are reassessing collections acquired during colonial periods and responding to repatriation requests from affected communities.

The University of Edinburgh returned the skulls of six Muscogee Nation individuals earlier this year. The Muscogee Creek Nation, originally from Southeastern territories along the Mississippi River and now based in Oklahoma, numbers approximately 103,000 members and stands as the fourth largest federally recognized tribal nation in the United States.

These repatriations raise important questions about institutional responsibility, historical accountability, and the proper stewardship of human remains and cultural artifacts. As Western institutions continue evaluating their collections through contemporary ethical frameworks, more communities are likely to pursue similar repatriation efforts for materials taken during colonial administration.

The outcomes of these cases will shape precedents for how museums and universities address their colonial-era acquisitions in the decades ahead.