When the soul of a nation dies is based on Easterine Iralu's epic poem about Nagaland. The political history of Nagaland in recent times began with British colonisation from the 1800s. Occupation by India in 1947 after the British left has resulted in an unresolved struggle for freedom by the people of Nagaland. The long struggle is being threatened from within by Chinese Marxism, which crept in in the 1980s. The film mirrors the tragedy of an occupied country fighting the twin wars of sovereignty and an internal factional war, while its people aspire for peace.

Easterine Iralu was born and raised in Nagaland. She is the author of several books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. She has a PhD in English, and taught in Nagaland University before leaving for Norway, where she now lives and works in Tromsø, where she has been “Fribyforfatter”.