Museums

This entry foregrounds questions of decolonisation. Material heritage from Northeast India features in museum collections across India, and in many of the leading institutions in the Global North. Some objects may have been bought, some gifted, but many were taken. So, how can these collections be decolonised? Using a longer case study focused on Naga communities, the entry traces changing museum practices from colonial collecting to contemporary curators’ partnerships with indigenous artists. In order to revitalise debates about museums one needs to think carefully about the theory one uses. Recycling the totalising social theory of the 1980s authored by Michael Foucault and Edward Said offers little radical or new. One needs theories that highlight human agency and diverse intentions. Finally, the entry argues for the potential of museums to help imagine new political and social relations. This is only possible, however, if museums become fairer and more equitable institutions.