WATCH: Baby Ariha's mother stages protest for letting kid celebrate Independence Day with Indians in Germany

With placards of her daughter’s photo and message reading, “Allow Ariha to attend Independence day celebrations with the Indian community in Germany” and “Let me celebrate Independence day with Indians in Berlin,” Ariha Shah’s mother Dhara Shah carried out demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Baby Ariha, an Indian girl, who is now 2 years old has been under foster care in Berlin for more than 20 months.

#WATCH | Delhi: Demonstration by the mother of Ariha Shah (Indian baby in German foster care) at Jantar Mantar to allow the child to celebrate Independence Day with the Indian Community in Germany. pic.twitter.com/DIAg6arGls

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

“In June the court took away the total custody of her (Ariha) and gave it to German Child Services. This was the court’s one-sided decision. We were not given a chance to put out our point…They are not even allowing Ariha to use the Indian items,” Dhara said. ‘Concerned about Ariha’s safety’ “We have no clue about her situation now. We are very concerned about her safety…Ariha’s cultural rights need to be preserved. We want Ariha to celebrate 15th August,” Dhara added.

#WATCH | Delhi: Ariha Shah's mother Dhara Shah says, "...In June the court took away the total custody of her (Ariha Shah) and gave it to German Child Services. This was the court's one-sided decision. We were not given a chance to put out our point...They are not even allowing… pic.twitter.com/xY9LTaIuZc

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2023

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In September 2021, when she was just seven-month-old, Ariha was placed in the custody of Germany’s Jugendamt or Youth Welfare office after an injury was brought to the attention of authorities by hospital. Authorities in German had placed the child under foster care, alleging harassment by her Indian parents. The Indian baby girl is still in the custody of German authorities despite the fact that no official charges were ever brought against her parents and the court-appointed psychologist recommended some kind of parental supervision. German authorities have said that Ariha was placed in foster care after her Indian parents allegedly harassed her. India has been persistently highlighting the need for Ariha’s swift repatriation, based on her being in the same linguistic, religious, cultural and social environment. Dhara was in the Indian parliament earlier this month to gather support among MPs to push for the release of her daughter from the foster care in Germany, On June 13, a district court in Germany had denied custody to Dhara and Bhavesh Shah based on two injuries Ariha had suffered in 2021 – one on her head and one in her genital area. Though a case of assault was filed against her parents, it was later changed to negligence, and finally dropped altogether. The case again Ariha’s parents was closed in February 2022. However, her parents were not granted custody, and the courts have also made the German welfare system, rather than the Indian one, her guardian. In December 2022, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar raised the issue with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and conveyed India’s concerns over the baby. With inputs from agencies