Erasure of Tribal Authorship at NID : Who Gets Credit in Indian Design?
The erasure of Indigenous authorship in Indian design institutions, focusing on the authorship issue of Sudhir John Horo, a Munda tribal designer and NID alumnus, whose contributions were reportedly removed from the institute’s archive. It argues that this incident reflects a broader pattern of invisibilizing tribal knowledge within elite spaces, particularly in postcolonial India. The piece calls for decolonizing design education by centering Indigenous epistemologies, implementing authorship protections, and holding institutions accountable. It frames authorship not as a technicality, but as a matter of sovereignty, memory, and justice for Indigenous communities.
Staff Editor 
There is an active and growing discussion within the design fraternity on LinkedIn regarding the erasure of tribal authorship at NID. Renowned designers are voicing their concern over the lack of recognition given to NID alumnus Sudhir J. Horo an Indigenous designer whose contributions have significantly shaped India's global image of business and tourism through campaigns like Incredible India@60, InvestIndia, India Future of Change, and India-Africa, among others.
This silence from the institution raises serious questions around issues of credit, authorship, and attribution. Even more troubling is the apparent disregard and marginalization of an Indigenous/adivasi designer who is not only a professional of repute but also an alumnus of the very institution in question.
The recent situation involving the erasure of authorship of Sudhir John Horo, a celebrated Munda Tribal designer and alumnus of the National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad, is more than a case of professional neglect. It is a piercing reflection of the larger situation of Indigenous or tribal authorship in India a history of being erased from the very projects they help build.
Horo’s design contributions, including work linked to India’s Business and Nation Branding, were reportedly erased from the NID’s archive. The silence of NID in response to this deeply symbolic case is not just an institutional oversight; it is complicity in an ongoing pattern of silencing Indigenous creators in elite spaces.
What is Indigenous Authorship in a Postcolonial India?
To be Indigenous/Adivasi in India is to live at the intersection of visibility and invisibility. Their textiles are displayed. Their festivals are photographed. Their landscapes are toured. But Their ideas? Their authorship? Routinely ignored, excluded, or appropriated. The situation of Indigenous or tribal authorship in India is marked by structural amnesia a reluctance to recognize them as intellectual producers, not just cultural artifacts.
And when Indigenous authorship is erased in spaces like NID a national design powerhouse it sends a chilling message: that even at the highest tables of creativity and innovation, Indigenous thought remains uncredited.
Image Coutesy: Sudhir John Horo, poster of Incredibal India@60 designed by him.
Image Courtesy: Sudhir J. Horo | According to Horo, he has yet to receive official attribution for the Invest India logo, which was showcased at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai.
We Must Decolonize Design Education in India
This is not merely about credit. It is about decolonizing design education in India. Design in India has long been filtered through Eurocentric paradigms, with tokenistic nods to craft and folklore. Indigenous design is not folklore. It is philosophy. It is strategy. It is lived knowledge shaped by ecological harmony, ancestral memory, and resistance.
To decolonize design education means to center Indigenous cosmologies not as add-ons, but as core epistemologies. It means respecting Indigenous students not as guests in academic institutions, but as co-owners of knowledge production.
Institutional Responsibility: What NID and Others Must Do
The incident at NID should not be treated as an isolated grievance. It is a signal flare. A reminder of the urgent need for:
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Formal authorship protocols that protect Indigenous creators, especially in state-sponsored or collaborative projects.
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Mandatory decolonial curriculum reforms that include Indigenous design thought not as electives, but as foundational frameworks.
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Indigenous-led review boards and councils that oversee attribution and participation in design processes.
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Public redressal mechanisms when authorship disputes arise, especially involving marginalized identities.
Screenshots of individuals expressing their displeasure on LinkedIn Post of Jagadeesh Taluri, here are some notable instances:
A Moral Reckoning
When educational institutions erase names, they erase more than credit they erase contribution to nation-building. The irony is bitter: that a tribal designer could shape the visual identity of a nation-state and yet be denied authorship by the very institution that trained him.
Let this not continue.
Educational institutes must choose: will you continue the colonial pattern of extraction and erasure, or will you walk toward decolonization, toward truth, and toward equity?
In Conclusion
Design is not neutral. Authorship is not administrative. For Indigenous communities, it is sovereignty. It is memory. It is future.
The world is watching. The Indigenous world is speaking. It is time for India’s institutions to listen not with guilt, but with responsibility. And above all, with respect.
Disclaimer :
Disclaimer:
The views and perspectives presented in this article are intended to highlight issues of Indigenous authorship, representation, and institutional accountability in Indian design education. The information regarding Sudhir John Horo’s contributions and their alleged erasure is based on publicly available sources and community discourse. This article does not intend to defame or misrepresent any individual or institution, including the National Institute of Design (NID), but rather to encourage critical dialogue around systemic concerns. Any party mentioned is welcome to clarify or respond. All visual materials used are credited appropriately to their respective creators.
