Discourses From the East
16 September 2026
We, the undersigned academics, scholars, writers, artists and concerned citizens of Assam, express our deep outrage at the humiliation and intimidation of Prof. Dolly Kikon and Prof. Sanjay Barbora at Nagaland House, RK Puram, New Delhi, on 15 September 2026.
Prof. Kikon had been invited by the Naga Scholars’ Association to screen her documentary film A Sacred Place and interact with students and scholars. The programme was held at the Conference Hall of Nagaland House and included a post-screening interaction with the filmmaker.
After the programme, students and scholars continued to interact with Prof. Kikon near the reception area. At this point, a member of the Nagaland House staff aggressively ordered those gathered to leave. When Prof. Barbora objected to the manner in which they were being treated, the staff member confronted him and challenged him to a physical altercation.
Instead of intervening to defuse the situation, the manager of Nagaland House defended the staff member’s conduct. Prof. Kikon, despite repeatedly explaining that she was an invited resource person of the Naga Scholars’ Association, was herself treated with disrespect and repeatedly asked to leave. The academic gathering was described as a “nuisance” and a “disruption.”
We strongly condemn this conduct.
The humiliation of Prof. Kikon, an invited resource person, and the intimidation of Prof. Barbora, who was challenged to a physical confrontation when he objected to the manner in which they were being treated, are both unacceptable. Prof. Kikon and Prof. Barbora are scholars and teachers who have spent decades working with and mentoring students across Northeast India. That they should be treated in this manner at Nagaland House after an academic programme demands serious attention from the Government of Nagaland.
The incident also reminds us that prejudice and hostility across ethnic and linguistic identities within Northeast India require our attention. Our shared experiences of discrimination elsewhere should make us sensitive to how we treat one another. Public institutions representing the states of the Northeast have a responsibility to uphold dignity and equal treatment irrespective of a person’s ethnicity, language or place of origin.
We stand in solidarity with the Naga Scholars’ Association, the Naga Students’ Union Delhi, and the Naga students and scholars who stood with Prof. Kikon and Prof. Barbora during and after the incident. The issue before us is the conduct of officials and staff of a public institution and the accountability of the administration responsible for it.
Nagaland House is a public institution representing the Government of Nagaland in the national capital. Its officials and staff have a responsibility to treat students, scholars, invited guests and members of the public with dignity and courtesy. The treatment of Prof. Kikon and Prof. Barbora on 15 September cannot be dismissed as an unpleasant interpersonal exchange.
We call upon the Government of Nagaland to take immediate cognisance of the incident, institute a transparent inquiry into the conduct of the officials and staff concerned, and take appropriate action on the basis of its findings.
We further call upon the Government of Nagaland to issue an unqualified apology to Prof. Dolly Kikon and Prof. Sanjay Barbora for the humiliation and intimidation they experienced at Nagaland House.
The incident also points to the need for proper training of public-facing officials and staff at Nagaland House. As representatives of the Government of Nagaland in India’s capital, they must be trained to deal with guests, students and members of the public with professionalism, courtesy and respect.
We stand in solidarity with Dolly Kikon and Sanjay Barbora, and with all those who have stood with them.
Signatories:
- Arup Kalita- Journalist
- Abhinob Das – PhD Scholar, Tezpur University
- Beda Prakash Dutta, Senior Research Fellow, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
- Bidisha Barman – Activist
- Bonojit Hussain -Farmer and Researcher
- Chandan Borgohain – Photographer and Researcher
- Deep Das – Entrepreneur and Activist
- Dhiren A. Sadokpam- Editor-in-Chief, The Frontier Manipur
- Dr Kuldeep Patowary, Department of History, Gauhati University
- Dr Tonmoyee Rani Neog – Researcher, Wolfsburg, Germany
- Dr Uttam Bathari – Assistant Professor, Department of History. Gauhati University
- Dr. Dipankara Devabrata – ENT consultant, Guwahati
- Dr. Juri Baruah – Commentator & author, Jorhat
- Dr. Kangkan Deka- Associate Professor, Darrang College, Tezpur
- Dr. Prafulla Kr. Nath – Assistant Professor, Assam University (Diphu Campus)
- Dr. Subhadeepta Ray- Department of Sociology, Tezpur University
- Dr. Sutapa Sengupta – Associate Professor (retd.)., Kolkata
- Jyotirmoy Talukdar – Ashoka University
- Khagen Kalita – President, Guwahati Press Club
- Kishore Kumar Kalita -Advocate & author, Guwahati
- Mahesh Deka- Journalist
- Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman – Researcher
- Mrinal Borah – PhD Scholar, Delhi School of Economics
- Nayanjyoti Bhuyan – Journalist and Development practitioner.
- Noihrit Gogoi – PhD student, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Prof. (Retd.) Apurba Kr Baruah – North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
- Prof. Chandan Kumar Sarma – Department of History, Gauhati University
- Prof. Chandan Kumar Sharma – Department of Sociology, Tezpur University
- Prof. Dwipen Bezbaruah – Gauhati University
- Prof. Indranee Dutta- Academic
- Prof. Rajib Handique, Department of History, Gauhati University
- Prof. Sarat Phukan – Gauhati University
- Prof.(retd.) Manorama Sharma – North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
- Roshmi Goswami – Feminist & Human Rights Activist
- Sandipan Talukdar – Journalist, Guwahati
- Santanu Borthakur- Senior lawyer, Gauhati High Court
- Saurabh Saikia- Research Scholar, Cotton University
- Suryasikha Pathak – Associate Professor, Assam University (Diphu Campus)
- Trishita – PhD student, University of Virginia
