A day after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement on the Ariha Shah case assuring the return of the baby girl to India, Ariha’s mother Dhara Shah has said that the government’s efforts have given them hope that their child will soon return to India. She also expressed her trust in the Narendra Modi government.
Ariha Shah, the daughter of a Jain couple Bhavesh and Dhara Shah was 7 months old when she was separated from her parents by the authorities of the Germany Child Care Institute in 2020 after the baby was accidentally hurt by her grandmother. 20 months have passed since then but she has not been returned to her parents.
“The MEA has released a very strong statement, asking German authorities to send Ariha Shah back to India at the earliest. The Indian MEA has also shared the details of potential foster parents with the German authorities. They have said that the cultural and linguistic rights of the child should be resumed. This has given us a lot of hope that Ariha will soon be back in her country,” Ariha’s mother said on Friday.
VIDEO | "The MEA has released a very strong statement, asking German authorities to send Ariha (Shah) back to India at the earliest. This has given us a lot of hope that Ariha will soon return to her country," says Dhara Shah, mother of the Indian baby girl who has been living in… pic.twitter.com/t9I4lB5QaC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 3, 2023
Speaking to ANI, Dhara Shah said, “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.”
#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
India has been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha Shah to India: MEA statement
It is notable that the MEA in a Friday statement said they are continually advocating for Ariha Shah’s return to India.
MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “Our efforts have been guided by the best interests of the child, which we believe can be fully realised only when she is in her home country where her socio-cultural rights can be safeguarded. Accordingly, we have been requesting Germany to return the child to India. The Embassy has repeatedly requested German authorities to ensure that Ariha’s connection with her cultural, religious and linguistic background is not compromised and sought consular access to the child as well as cultural immersion at the Indian Cultural Centre in Berlin.”
The MEA Spokesperson also stated that the manner in which the baby girl Ariha Shah was shifted away from her parents to foster care is a matter of concern. He further informed that the German authorities have been apprised of India’s child protection system, and details about potential foster parents have also been shared.
“The German authorities have been made aware of India’s child protection system and the details of potential foster parents have also been shared with them. Ariha’s continued placement in German foster care and infringement of her social, cultural and linguistic rights is of deep concern to the Government of India and to the parents. We would like to reiterate that Ariha Shah is an Indian national and her nationality and socio-cultural background is the most important determinant of where her foster care is to be provided,” Bagchi said.
Moreover, the Indian authorities have urged the German authorities to allow Ariha’s return to India adding that it is her inalienable right as an Indian national.
“We urge the German authorities to do all that is necessary to send Ariha to India at the earliest, which is also her inalienable right as an Indian national. We remain committed to ensuring the return of Ariha Shah to India,” MEA’s statement added.
Indian MPs write a joint letter to German Ambassador Phillip Ackerman to bring back Ariha
Meanwhile, 59 MPs from 19 political parties have come together to ensure Ariha Shah’s repatriation to India. The MPs, both from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha wrote to Ambassador Philipp Ackerman on Friday in a joint letter, saying it was essential to return Ariha to India, “her own country, people, culture, and environment,” and that “any delay will cause irreparable harm to the baby.”
“Shifting her around from one carer to another will cause deep and damaging trauma to the child. The parents are allowed only fortnightly visits. The videos of these meetings are heart-wrenching and they reveal the deep bonds the baby has with her parents and the pain of separation,” the letter read.
The letter further stated that India can well look after her own child and that the baby girl Ariha Shah belongs to a strict vegetarian Jain family who is being raised in an alien culture.
“There is another aspect. We have our own cultural norms. The baby belongs to a Jain family who are strict vegetarians. The baby is being brought up in an alien culture, being fed non-vegetarian food. Being here in India, you can better appreciate how unacceptable this is to us,” the letter added.
Notably, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde on Thursday wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar drawing his to the case of Baby Ariha Shah who is stranded in a foster home in Germany for the last twenty months.
