Kohima: Venyiyi Rhakhu, a Naga National Council Tatar who resisted the 1975 Shillong Accord, was killed in 1979. His remains stayed missing for decades. It took 25 years to return him home. His family finally buried him in his native village of Thuvopisu in 2004.
The documentary Prophetic Homecoming tracks this arduous return. Directed by Dr. Talilula and produced by the son of the slain leader, Dezoto Rhakho, along with the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, the film premiered on September 5 at The Lighthouse Church in Dimapur. The project chronicles how the family wrestled with trauma and eventually chose to forgive the unknown assassins.
Dezoto Rhakho was 17 when his father died. He described the long, internal struggle to release resentment. The family initially grappled with the lack of accountability from those who killed him. Dezoto recalled the tension of the decision, noting, "But our thoughts were, 'Why and who do we forgive?' It was not as if the perpetrators had come seeking forgiveness, and neither did we know the names or identities of the actual perpetrators."
The family began their formal journey toward reconciliation on October 18, 2003. They spent an entire day in prayer. They realized their anger was blocking the recovery of the mortal remains. Forgiveness, they concluded, was not an act of erasing history or abandoning the leader's principles. It was a step toward spiritual restoration.
Dr. Villo Naleo of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council weighed in on the ethics of this choice. He argued that forgiving does not mean forgetting. It also does not exempt a perpetrator from the legal consequences of their actions.
The repatriation of Rhakhu’s body carried weight for the entire community. His home village of Thuvopisu in the Phek district suffered through conflict, including being razed seven times by armed forces. Decades of fratricidal violence killed 48 people in the area. The film serves as a study in how communities navigate deep, structural wounds. As Dr. Talilula noted, the process demonstrated how the human heart finds pathways to peace even after immense violence.
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