A Naga Odyssey – Visier’s Long Way Home

“A Naga Odyssey: My Long Way Home” by Visier Meyasetsu Sanyü takes readers on an extraordinary journey that unravels the history and soul of the Nagas. Renowned historian Rajmohan Gandhi aptly states, ‘Those in India or elsewhere who would like to get to know Nagas and their history cannot do much better than to read Visier’s remarkable, if in places thorn-filled, story.’

At the tender age of five, Visier Meyasetsu Sanyü, alongside his fellow villagers from Khonoma, was forced to flee the Indian Army, seeking refuge within the jungles of Nagaland in 1956. Enduring immense hardships and starvation, Visier and his family managed to survive for over two arduous years, while many others tragically perished. Emerging from the jungle, Visier found himself in a transformed Nagaland, marked by civil war and oppressive circumstances. Violence and fear continued to haunt him throughout his student days in a military school in Bhubaneshwar, where he and fellow Naga boys endured beatings and unjust detainment. His undergraduate years in Darjeeling coincided with the tumultuous theater of the 1971 war over Bangladesh. Even his dreams of a peaceful life at the University of Nagaland were threatened by internal strife, prompting him to seek refuge in Australia. Over two decades spent there brought both loss of home and tradition, but also the discovery of healing through his work with refugees, and a newfound sense of belonging.

This poignant narrative traces Visier’s captivating journey, spanning from his humble beginnings as a barefoot village schoolboy to his remarkable ascent as a professor. It delves into his transformation from indigenous religious beliefs to Christianity, and from the confines of a small-town existence to his appearances before the United Nations. Against the backdrop of the Naga quest for freedom, Visier’s kaleidoscopic sixty-year-long odyssey unfolds, vividly capturing his relentless pursuit of peace, tranquility, and forgiveness. Within these pages, readers will witness a vivid tapestry of courage, resilience, and the enduring spirit of the Nagas.