NID faces flak over alleged erasure of tribal designer’s authorship

Vadodara: India's premier design institute, the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, has come under scrutiny following a LinkedIn post alleging the erasure of tribal authorship, sparking widespread debate online.The post was shared by indigenous designer Sudhir John Horo, a 1996 NID graduate and current director of the Adivasi Academy, Bhasha Research and Publication Centre — an institute recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the ministry of tribal affairs in Tejgadh, Gujarat.Horo alleges that his name was removed from official records of his past work and from course materials he presented at the institute.Originally from Jharkhand, Horo has led significant branding and public diplomacy projects for India. He stated that instead of receiving individual credit, his contributions were subsumed under institutional terms like "teamwork," effectively erasing his authorship."When I discovered this, I wrote to the NID director," he told TOI, "but I didn't receive any concrete response."Horo's portfolio includes leading India's branding at the World Economic Forum annual meetings for ten consecutive years. He also conceptualised key initiatives like "Incredible India@60," "Indiafrica," and "India Future of Change" in collaboration with the ministry of external affairs, and designed the ‘Invest India' logo, which was showcased at the World Expo Dubai 2020 — none of which he was credited for, he claims.Speaking to TOI, Horo said he became aware of the missing attribution during a recent visit by NID students to the Vaacha Museum in Tejgadh."The students had come across two frameworks — ‘India Future of Change' and ‘Indiafrica'. To my surprise, they had no idea who created them. The course materials presented them as government initiatives, without naming any designer or author," he said. This prompted him to investigate how his contributions were represented — or erased — within the NID system."I found that my name had been removed from the Environmental Perception course (2021–2025) and the 2022–2023 Open Electives, where I taught modules based on Tribal Knowledge Systems and Imagination. These weren't accidental omissions — certainly not at an institution like NID, known for its procedural structure," he said.Horo, who also served as a special secretary in the information and public relations department of the Jharkhand govt and is the convener of the Tribal Design Forum, said he sought a meeting with the NID director. But when he arrived on the scheduled day — dressed in traditional indigenous attire — he was told the director was unavailable, and no alternative time was offered.On April 26, Horo sent a parting message addressed to the entire NID community — students, faculty, staff, and administrators. But, according to him, "there was no visible trace of delivery.""This raises a troubling question: Was the message intentionally suppressed by the institutional mail server? If so, the silence isn't incidental — it becomes structural. A form of gatekeeping. And if communication was intercepted, then the institution is shielding someone — or something — from the light of memory," he said.When contacted, NID director Ashok Mondal confirmed that the institute had received Horo's email and responded. A spokesperson for NID added that the matter is under detailed review by an internal committee. "We will be sharing all the findings of the committee," the spokesperson said.