As Ariha Shah, the Indian child taken into parental custody by German Youth Services in 2021 turned three years old, her mother Dhara Shah made another plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter, alleging that German authorities were making no attempt to introduce her to Indian culture.
Ms. Shah, who was allowed to visit her daughter under supervision last week, says that despite the Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) request that German Youth Services or Jugendamt ensure the child is brought up culturally “as an Indian”, Ariha speaks only German and is not being taught English or any other Indian language. She also said that the Jugendamt had turned down a request from the Indian community in Berlin to allow Ariha to attend the Indian Embassy’s Republic Day function.
“When I meet my own child, she can’t understand what I say. She now doesn’t call me Mama, and refers instead to her guardian as her mother,” the mother, in tears, told The Hindu. “I am now trying to learn German so I can speak to her,” she added.
