New Delhi: Dhara Shah, mother of Indian infant, Ariha Shah, currently in foster care in Germany along with Progressive Women's Organisation and All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar today demanding repatriation of the child in order to protect her human and cultural rights.
Dhara has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and unite her with her daughter. "Ariha is not taken to the temple and she is being deprived of her religious and cultural rights. She is an Indian citizen and has linguistic and social rights that are not being preserved in Berlin," she said.
"We met many ministers and MPs and asked for help. The Indian government has also helped us. Now, only PM Modi can reunite me with my daughter. If he intervenes, the German government will have to listen to us. I appeal to the prime minister to heed the pleas of a mother," she said.
When Ariha was seven months old, her parents noticed blood on her diaper and took her to the doctor. After examining the child, the doctor declared her healthy. However, the hospital accused Ariha's parents of abusing her and the child care home took her into their custody. Although the hospital had later withdrawn their allegation, the child care home did not hand over Ariha to her family.
Considering the child's safety, a court in Germany gave her custody to the German Youth Welfare Office instead of her parents. The court observed that Ariha's parents had intentionally hurt her but the family claimed that the girl got injured while bathing. Ariha has been living in a child care home in Berlin for over two years.
Earlier, the Indian community in Frankfurt held a peaceful protest seeking PM Modi's intervention.
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