Kuki Churches Unification Movements Keywords: Kuki Church, Church Unification, Ecumenical Movement, Church division Thongkholal Haokip The coming of Christianity among the Kukis is now more than a century. Centenary of the gospel among the Baptists was celebrated in March 1996 with a theme “Christ the Hope of the Ages” and the Evangelical Presbyterians in 2010 with “Power of the Gospel” as a theme respectively. Within the twentieth century almost the entire population had been swept by Christianity and now Christians constitute more than 90 percent of the total population. This essay discusses the advent of Christianity among the Kukis and analyse the attempts made by church leaders to unify Kuki churches. It also made an enquiry into the reasons for the failure of such attempts to church unification and its implication on Kuki society. Dr. Thongkholal Haokip is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Presidency University, Kolkata. Journal of North East India Studies Vol. 2(1), Jul.-Dec. 2012, pp. 33-48. ISSN 2278-1455 (print)/ISSN 2277-6869 (online) © 2012 Association for North East India Studies http://www.jneis.com Advent of Christianity Christianity was brought among the Kukis by two main Christian missions, the Baptist and the Presbyterian. The first Kuki convert to Christianity in the then Naga Hills was Ngulhao Thomsong, who was baptised by William Pettigrew on January 20, 1908. In the Mikir Hills (Karbi Anglong) of Assam, Baptist missions first came and the churches were known as Kuki Baptist churches. Similarly, in Tripura and Burma, Christianity among the Kukis was brought in by the Baptist missions. In North Cachar Hills and Lushai Hills of Assam, Presbyterian missions first set in their foot and the churches in the Kuki areas were known as Ngalsong Presbytery. The Kuki Christians in Naga Hills formed the Kuki Christian Association in 1926. They have 200 baptised members in 1936, 700 in 1950 and 807 in 1953 (Hangsing 2010: 27). Christianity brought to them not only a life of spiritual salvation but also an end to the old ways of living; their outlook to life and lifestyle was transformed (Vaiphei, 1995). William Pettigrew 1 was the first missionary to enter the soil of Manipur on February 6, 1894, sponsored by the American Baptist Mission Union. He first worked as a mis- sionary in Dhaka under the Arthington Aborigenes Mission. Later he was forced to re- sign from the Arthington Aborigenes Mission and joined the Baptist church at Sibsagar in 1896 (Solo & Mahangthei 1986: vii-viii). While in Cachar he met some Manipuris and learnt their language with the hope of serving in Manipur. He was repeatedly denied