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'Inalienable right': India urges Germany to return infant in foster care
Ariha Shah, an Indian national, was placed in the custody of the Youth Welfare Office of Germany (Jugendamt) on September 23, 2021
Photo: PTI
The Indian government has urged Germany to ensure the safe return of a baby to India who was taken away from her parents by German foster care over twenty months ago.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stressed that the baby, Ariha Shah, is an Indian national and that India is committed to ensuring her repatriation.
The spokesperson’s statements came during a weekly media briefing on Friday. Terming the issue as important and sensitive, he said, “The Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of India, Berlin, have been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha Shah to India”.
According to Arindam Bagchi, Ariha Shah, an Indian national, was placed in the custody of the Youth Welfare Office of Germany (Jugendamt) on September 23, 2021, when she was just seven months old. The German authorities had alleged that the baby was harassed by her parents.
“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,” said the spokesperson.
Arindam Bagchi added that the Indian embassy in Germany has been “repeatedly requesting German authorities” to ensure that the baby’s “connection with our cultural, religious and linguistic background is not compromised and has sought consular access to the child”.
The spokesperson also stated that the Indian government’s requests in this regard “have not been met” and they “are dismayed to learn that the child was abruptly shifted away from her current foster parent to a specialised foster care arrangement”. He further said that the manner in which the baby was shifted “is a matter of concern”.
Arindam Bagchi reiterated that Ariha Shah is an Indian national and her safe return to India is her “inalienable right as an Indian national”.
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