Speaking in Mumbai, Singhal roared that we should not accept the Rs 20 crore assistance offered by the Catholic Church for the rehabilitation of the quake victims. Singhal's statement was a mischievous and dangerous one, in view of the VHP strength in Gujarat. Tomorrow, his cry could be taken up by the VHP thugs in the state and endanger the institutions which had been put back on their feet by the donation from the Catholic church. The VHP leader had not realised that the generous donation from the church had nothing to do with the issue of conversion. It was given out of compassion.
All sensible people are opposed to conversion, through coercion or force.
Whatever Singhal and his group might think, this was not a major problem as made out to be by the Hindu hot-heads. In many cases, it was the attitude of the orthodox Hindus which drove the lower castes to embrace Christianity which promised equal treatment for all. The numbers game on the issue existed only in the sick minds of people like Singhal. A majority of Indians were indebted to the Christian organisations for their contributions in the field of education and health care. It was clear to most of us that the Christian community in India which was seldom guilty of provocative acts seldom associated itself with the issue of conversion.