Altercation After Academic Dolly Kikon's Film Screening at Nagaland House Invites Censure
New Delhi: A number of academics and journalists from Nagaland and beyond have expressed solidarity with professors Dolly Kikon and Sanjay Barbora, who had complained a day earlier about a spat outside Nagaland House in the capital's R.K. Puram area.
Kikon and Barbora were at the reception of Nagaland House following the screening of the documentary A Sacred Place about Makhel village in northern Manipur. They said were rudely asked to leave by the Nagaland House staff, and humiliated, with the staff and managers challenging Barbora to a physical fight.
In a statement issued on September 16, 39 signatories, including writers, artists and concerned citizens have sought a transparent inquiry into the conduct of officials and staff at Nagaland House and an unqualified apology to the two academics, said reports.
The gathering was described as a “nuisance” and a “disruption”, according to the statement.
The signatories to the letter said the alleged treatment of the two professors was particularly concerning because Nagaland House is a public institution representing the Nagaland government in the national capital.
A Sacred Place, a documentary produced by Kikon, an anthropologist by profession, in 2026, is being screened at locations across the country. Kikon had been invited for a similar screening at Nagaland House by the Naga Scholars’ Association (NSA).
NSA said after the screening that the programme had brought together academicians, scholars, students, activists, student leaders, representatives of Naga organisations and members of the wider community. A discussion followed the film.
While the event itself appears to have gone smoothly and the discussion lasted about an hour, there was an altercation when people stopped to chat near the Nagaland House reception.
According to the statement issued by the 39 academics, after the programme, the attending journalists, students and scholars continued interacting with Kikon when a member of the Nagaland House staff ordered them to leave. When Barbora objected to the manner in which the group was being treated, the staff member allegedly escalated matters.
Kikon, despite repeatedly explaining that she was an invited resource person of the Naga Scholars’ Association, was also allegedly asked to leave, said reports.
The signatories to the letter also called for better training of public-facing officials and staff at Nagaland House, stressing the need for professionalism, courtesy and respect in dealing with guests, students and members of the public.
The following are the signatories:
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
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