The name of the first Meitei to convert to Christianity is unknown. It is traditionally believed that Angom Porom Singh of Phayeng was the first to be converted, but another tradition says that Ningol Kaboklei met a Christian missionary in Sylhet (presently in Bangladesh) and embraced Christianity in around 1893, a few years earlier than the arrival of William Pettigrew. Those claiming that Porom Singh was the first Christian convert, have intentionally ignored the other tradition about Kaboklei. It may well be true that Kaboklei was the first Manipur Christian.