India's secularism is strong and it will not be shaken, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a reception in Berlin for the Indian community, hosted by the Indian ambassador to Germany on Monday Mid night. The Prime Minister was talking about Sanskrit. He said decades ago, German radio had a news bulletin in Sanskrit when there was none in India. "I must applaud the Germans, they had Sanskrit news bulletins...our country didn't... because of secularism...," the PM said, adding, "India's secularism is not so weak that it will be shaken just because of a language. One should have self-confidence. That should not be shaken." He did not elaborate, but a reference is being seen in his comments to the Modi government's decision last year to replace German with Sanskrit as the third language in over 500 schools, which upset Germany.PM Modi had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the issue then. So far, the Sanskrit language issue hasn't come up between the two sides during Mr Modi's trip, but sources said there is a possibility of discussions during bilateral talks between Mr Modi and Ms Merkel and their delegations today(Tuesday). PM Modi's comment on India's secularism also comes in the wake of widespread concern over a series of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings over the last few months in India.
