Why Baby Ariha Was Taken From Indian Parents In Germany?

A Berlin court on Friday denied the custody of Indian baby Ariha Shah to her biological parents and handed her over to Jugendamt, the German youth services.

While justifying its verdict, the court emphasised that the best interests of the child are at risk.

The court also cited two injuries that Ariha had suffered - a head and back injury in April 2021 that happened while she was being bathed and a genital injury in September 2021, while denying custody to the Indian Welfare Services.

According to a report in India Today, Ariha's parents expressed their faith in the Indian government and said they have confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Dr Jaishankar will work towards bringing Ariha back to India.

"From today, we hand over Ariha to 140 crore Bhartiyas," they said, as per the report.

Ariha Shah was 7 months old when German authorities took her into custody

Similar to the story of Rani Mukerji's latest movie Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, an Indian couple is now fighting for the custody of their child Ariha Shah, who has remained in German state custody for over 14 months now.

In September 2021, Ariha Shah was accidentally hurt by his paternal grandmother. When her parents brought her to the hospital, they were charged with sexual assault and the baby was taken away.

Initially, the baby was placed into foster care, and parents were allowed to visit every 15 days. Now, the authorities have urged that the parental rights of the Indian couple be suspended, and Ariha be placed permanently in the care of the state.

So, Ariha's parents have started an online petition to gather public support to get their daughter back into custody.

It is said in the petition that the criminal inquiry was concluded without charges in February 2022, but Ariha Shah is still in the custody of German authorities. Berlin Child Services has filed a civil custody case to terminate the parental rights of the Shah couple.

"The German child services are completely insensitive to the baby's cultural and religious identity, insisting on a meat diet for her though she comes from an observant Jain family. They say they plan to have her adopted by a German family. This is a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which both India and Germany are parties," the petition said.

Ariha Shah's parents are demanding that the baby Ariha Shah be repatriated to India and placed with the maternal family or a Jain family under the care and responsibility of Indian child welfare authorities.

The family has alleged that the German authorities are deracinating little Ariha from her Jain roots and conditioning her to a European life, which is in stark contrast to the teachings of Jainism.This has been done with Indian children in foster care in Norway, the USA and other countries.

"In this way the child is enabled to retain her heritage and develop bonds with her extended family while the parents fight their long drawn-out battle in the foreign country," they said.