Christian Missionaries are well known for their charity works in unprivileged societies all over the world. Charity is always and highly welcomed when it only means to feed the poor, to nurse the sick, to educate the Illiterate and to shelter the homeless. But when charity exceeds these limits and penetrates into the socio-cultural and religious aspects of an individual in order to mould and change him. charity then loses its solemnity.

Having said so and without reading between the lines of his write-up, I like to come to the point of discussion — the point that raised by Mr Jerome Sarkar in the OPINION column of The DS on 24-3-98 about a circular of our Home Ministry proposing the government to enact laws against religious conversion especially by the Christian missionaries and the NGO’s. And for that act on the part of the government Mr Jerome Sarkar appears to be so enraged, shocked, disappointed and aggrieved that he questioned the secular nature of the present government, accused of racial discrimination against

and bias towards the minority, and of limitations and constrictions to free uses of his citizenship rights and liberties etc.

I personally feel very sorry for this state of his mind. But at the same time shall request him to calm down and control his exaggerated and vigorous reactions and wish him to kindly take off his hat logically like that of mine to the Home Ministry as long as it protects all of us from any racial conspiracy and safeguards our individual. social and spiritual lives as well.

Mr Sarkar as a man of liberal heart and sensible mind you might have agreed that to bring the non-believers and the enemies of God back under the Divine Faith is something definitely holy. But converting a person with definite culture and religion of his own by using power, sword, diplomacy, supremacy or by financial incentives in the name of poverty alleviation, education, health care and upgrading of life is surely a heinous act. if not

criminal. No sensible and fair person can be a part id i n h foul play except a fanatic w-eause the fanatics never respect the sentiments of others and always like to see people around them speaking, eating, dressing and thinking like them only. This is certainly a perverted form of human mentality.

Mr Sarkar, you might have observed that almost all religions on earth are more or less passing through a difficult time now. Earthly values are prevailing on spiritual ones and this is spreading like cancers. In this context every person in religion has a special task to protect FIRST his own community from further moral and spiritual damage than to EXPAND the size and number of the community. So. Mr Sarkar please don't be upset to find yourself in a "microscopic" community here In this country WHEREAS the "macroscopic" sizes of the Christian communities are at real stake in the west now.Mr Sarkar the Christian missionaries and other voluntary organizations have so much to do with their fellow people now.