: Monday, January 12, 2026 10:07 PM
Gandhinagar. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Ahmedabad, Gujarat today. During this, PM Modi has raised the issue of Baby Ariha Shah with the German Chancellor. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri gave this information on Monday. Let us know what is the issue of Baby Ariha Shah, which PM Modi mentioned in front of the German Chancellor. Baby Ariha is an Indian girl growing up in German foster care. In a special briefing regarding the German Chancellor’s visit to India, Misri said that India will continue to follow-up with the German government on the case of Baby Ariha and will be in touch with the family at every step. He said India is also trying to ensure that baby Ariha is raised in as much of an Indian environment as possible, such as interacting with the Indian community and celebrating Indian festivals.
Regarding the Ariha Shah case, he said, “We have been in talks for a long time with the German government, all the German authorities, their embassy in Delhi, the German government in Berlin and all the agencies involved. This case was at one time a legal matter, but we believe that ultimately, it should be dealt with keeping in mind the humanitarian issues involved.”
Vikram Misri further added, “I can’t say that we understand the problems and difficulties of the family because only they can understand them. We are fully aware of the situation, and we are trying our best to help them in every possible way. We are also trying to ensure that baby Ariha is brought up in as much of an Indian environment as possible, whether it is meeting Indian people or taking part in Indian festivals being celebrated in Germany. We are also trying to provide Hindi language to her.” Would like to arrange for learning.”
He said, “Recently, we also made efforts for other things. I don’t want to go into details about it right now. But, I want to assure you all that we are committed to this issue with the German government at every stage, and PM Modi also talked to the Chancellor about this. So, we will continue to follow-up with the German government on this issue, and we will be with the family at every step.”
The Indian Foreign Secretary said that we are giving priority to this issue just like we give to other issues related to India-Germany relations. My Additional Secretary for Europe, who is sitting with me, talks to the family often. Whenever the family comes here, he meets them. We are doing everything possible, and we will keep you updated from time to time.
Let us tell you, Ariha Shah was kept in the custody of Germany’s Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) on September 23, 2021. Ariha was seven months old at the time when the accidental injury occurred. Since then he has been in foster care. India says that it is important for the child to live in his own linguistic, religious, cultural and social environment.
In September last year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that he had raised the issue of Ariha Shah during a meeting with his German counterpart Johann Waddeful in New Delhi.
Ariha’s parents Dhara Shah and Bhavesh Shah are from Gujarat, who moved to Germany in 2018 after getting good jobs. Ariha was born in 2021, and when she was 7 months old, her grandmother was feeding her in her lap when the baby got injured. The girl was taken to the hospital due to injuries.
Seeing the girl’s injuries, doctors suspected ‘sexual torture’. The hospital immediately informed Germany’s child protection agency ‘Ugendamt’. After this, Ugendamt separated the girl from her parents and took her into his custody and since then a legal battle started regarding Ariha.
After taking the girl into custody, the German police started investigating the case and all the medical tests including DNA test proved that there was no sexual abuse with the girl. Then in the beginning of the year 2022, the police closed the criminal case against the parents. Even after Dhara and Bhavesh were proved innocent, Germany’s ‘Child Line Service’ refused to return the girl.
The agency alleged that even if sexual abuse did not occur, the parents “violently behaved” with the child or were negligent in taking care of her. On the basis of this, the court terminated the ‘parenting rights’ of the parents and put the girl in foster care.
—
Read this also – Click to read the news of your state/city before the newspaper.
Web Title-What is the case of Baby Ariha Shah, which PM Modi discussed with the German Chancellor?
