In a letter to external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Rio said the auctioning of human remains is an act of dehumanisation and in this case, a continued colonial violence upon “our people”.

“The news of the proposed auction of Naga human remains in the UK has been received by all sections in a negative manner as it is a highly emotional and sacred issue for our people, as it has been a traditional custom of our people to give the highest respect and honour for the remains of the demised. You will agree that the human remains of any deceased person belong to those people and their land,” Rio wrote.

He urged upon the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to take up the matter with the Indian High Commission in the UK to undertake necessary steps to ensure that the auction of the Naga human remains is halted. “We urge the Government of India to do everything possible to ensure that the rights and emotions of our people are protected,” he added.

Earlier, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), an organisation consisting of Naga Church leaders and representatives of civil society had alerted the Nagaland government about the auction. The FNR said a “19th-century horned Naga human skull”, valued at 3,500- 4,000 UK pounds, is listed for a one-day sale by Swan Fine Art at Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, UK. Its provenance is traced to the Ex Francios Coppens Collection from Belgium.

It is part of an auction titled “The curious collector sale” and is catalogued alongside antiquarian books, manuscripts, paintings, jewellery, ceramics and furniture.

“These human remains symbolize the violence that the British colonial power unleashed on the Nagas. Throughout the period of British rule, the Naga people were defined as ‘savages’ and ‘headhunters’, which are insulting tropes that continue to be perpetuated today,” the forum said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“We are offended and deeply hurt ….. The auction highlights the impunity that descendants of European colonisers enjoy as they perpetuate a racist, colonial, and violent depiction of Naga people. This is counterintuitive to the Naga search for dignity, healing and reconciliation; and for rehumanisation from the colonial project,” FNR convenor Dr. Wati Aier said.

The forum also pointed out that such an act is in contravention to Article 15 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which says that “Indigenous Peoples have a right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information.”

It underscored that the matter is also at the heart of an ethical stand that international governments must consider, including that of the United Kingdom and India, who are both signatories of UNDRIP.