A collective of academics and researchers from Northeast India and abroad has condemned the alleged harassment of anthropologist Professor Dolly Kikon and sociologist Professor Sanjay Barbora by staff at Nagaland House in RK Puram, New Delhi. The incident occurred on September 15 after the two scholars attended an event organized by the Naga Scholars Association (NSA) at the venue.
The NSA event featured a screening of Kikon’s documentary “A Sacred Place” followed by an interactive session with the filmmaker. According to the collective, staff members of Nagaland House behaved rudely, publicly humiliating the scholars and issuing threats. Kikon recounted that the manager described the event as a “nuisance” and asked her to leave, while a receptionist slammed her desk and demanded she exit. When Barbora intervened, the receptionist spoke aggressively in Hindi and challenged him to a fight, and the manager later requested paperwork and permission instead of de‑escalating the situation.
Kikon and Barbora have long engaged with students, scholars and communities in Northeast India. Both are associated with the Roots & Bridges Ethnographic Writing Workshop, which has supported doctoral students from the region for 13 years. Their recent work includes research on indigenous food systems, rural schools, peace dialogues and the repatriation of Naga ancestral human remains from the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.
In a letter signed by 91 academics, researchers and scholars from institutions across India and abroad—including IITs, central universities and international universities—the collective urged the Naga Scholars Association to obtain a public apology from the involved staff. It also questioned whether Nagaland House is an appropriate venue for film screenings and academic discussions on Naga cultural heritage, calling for greater sensitivity toward academics, students and other guests using the premises.
