German Chancellor in Gujarat, activists call for Ariha’s return
BILATERAL – INDIA-EUROPE
12 JANUARY 2026
- Accusing the German government of violating the human rights and cultural rights of five-year old Ariha Shah, who was seized from her parents on allegations of abuse four years ago, activists demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take up the matter with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz when they meet.
- Despite several pleas from New Delhi, the German government has not agreed to India’s request that Ariha, an Indian citizen, be allowed to return to India and be brought up in foster care here.
- The case of Ariha has been raised by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with German counterparts a number of times, and Mr. Modi had discussed it with the previous Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
- Ariha was taken into German foster care in September 2021.
- The activists repeated demands by Ariha’s parents, Gujarati-Jain couple Dhara and Bhavesh Shah, that the child be taught Gujarati or Hindi and learn about the Jain religion she was born to, adding that depriving a child of her “mother tongue, religion, and cultural exposure directly violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [UNCRC]”, to which both India and Germany are signatories.
- At present, Ms. Dhara and Mr. Bhavesh are allowed to visit their daughter twice a month, and thus far the Indian embassy has been granted five consular access visits
- In 2021, seven-month-old Ariha was taken into custody by Germany’s Jugendamt (Youth Welfare Office) after her parents, Dhara and Bhavesh Shah, took her to a Berlin hospital with injuries to her head and genitals. Authorities suspected child sexual abuse and physical harm.
- The parents maintain the injuries were accidental, occurring during a diaper change or massage by a visiting grandmother.
- According to the Save Ariha team, German Youth Services Jugendamt, who had originally accused the Shahs of grievous abuse but subsequently dropped criminal charges, have already billed Ariha’s parents about ₹22 lakh for foster care and another ₹16 lakh for administrative and legal costs.
