[1][2] James Thoppil was born on 8 May 1959 in Kottayam, Kerala, India to Mr. Uthuppan Charalel and Mrs. Anna.
He completed his studies in Philosophy from Christ King College in 1980.
He completed his training from Parish of St. Joseph in Tseminyu, Nagaland in 1982.
He did his licentiate in the Field of Dogmatic Theology under Pontifical Urban University, Rome, from 1994 to 1996 and completed his Doctorate in the same field and under the same university from 1996 to 1998.
He was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Kohima on 16 June 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.