After German authorities separated an Indian toddler from her parents more than two years ago, India is still working to reunite the family. The Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday (May 2) that the ministry has been requesting German authorities to return the child (Ariha Shah) to India because she is an Indian national and was placed in the custody of Germany’s youth welfare in 2021 at the age of 7 months. She has now been in a foster care home for 20 months.
MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: “We have been requesting Germany to return the child (Ariha Shah) to India. She is an Indian National and she was placed in the custody of Germany’s youth welfare in 2021 when she was 7 months old. Now she has been in the foster care home for the past 20 months,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
We have been requesting Germany to return the child (Ariha Shah) to India. She is an Indian National and she was placed in the custody of Germany’s youth welfare in 2021 when she was 7 months old. Now she has been in the foster care home for the past 20 months: MEA spokesperson… pic.twitter.com/eQyX5HlTQ1
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2023
In January, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra stated that the Indian embassy was in contact with the family and German authorities in order to find a solution. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had expressed concerns about the baby to his German counterpart earlier in December.
Ariha Shah was taken into custody by German authorities more than a year ago on the grounds that she was being harassed by her parents. The toddler has been in foster care in Berlin since then. The child’s family members have been seeking her repatriation to India for over a year and a half.
Dhara Shah, Ariha Shah’s mother, who has been in a foster care facility in Berlin, said, “I trust the Indian government, and I request that once there is PM-level intervention in the case, my daughter will return soon.”
#WATCH | “I trust the Indian government and I request that once there will be PM-level intervention in the case then my daughter will return soon,” says Dhara Shah, mother of Ariha Shah, who has been in a foster care facility in Berlin, Germany pic.twitter.com/vNDpWvAkAP
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2023
This year, as the case approached the two-year mark, family members and volunteers launched several petitions to “save Ariha.” Family members have also led protests in front of the German Embassy in New Delhi.
According to earlier reports quoting the parents, the case was eventually closed without charges. Their daughter, however, was not returned. Berlin Child Services has also filed a civil custody case seeking to terminate parental rights. A trial date has yet to be determined.
