India continues to pursue the case of Ariha Shah, the Indian child who has remained in foster care in Germany since 2021, with the Ministry of External Affairs saying its embassy is maintaining contact with German authorities while also working to preserve the girl’s cultural links with India.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that there was no fresh development to announce in the long-running case but assured that Indian officials remained engaged with both Ariha and the German authorities. The government’s emphasis, he said, continued to include her cultural needs, an issue New Delhi has repeatedly raised while seeking a resolution to the case.
Nearly five years in foster care
Ariha was seven months old when she was placed in German foster care in September 2021 following an injury while she was in the care of her family. Her parents have maintained that the injury was accidental. The case subsequently became the subject of proceedings involving German child welfare authorities and has remained a sensitive issue between New Delhi and Berlin.
Ariha’s continued separation from her Indian parents has generated appeals for her return to India, with her family and supporters arguing that prolonged foster care in Germany risks weakening her connection with her linguistic, religious and cultural background. The Indian government has also consistently stressed that her long-term welfare should take her socio-cultural environment into consideration.
The MEA’s latest comments indicate that diplomatic engagement is continuing even though there has been no immediate change in Ariha’s custody situation. Indian diplomats have remained in contact with the relevant German agencies and have sought to ensure that she receives exposure to Indian culture while the broader issue remains unresolved.
Humanitarian approach sought
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had earlier said that India had been engaged with the German government, its embassy in New Delhi and agencies in Germany over the case. New Delhi’s position has been that while the dispute has involved legal proceedings, the question of Ariha’s future should ultimately be approached from a humanitarian perspective.
India has raised the matter at senior political and diplomatic levels over the years. The issue was also taken up with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his official visit to India in January. The continued high-level engagement reflects the importance New Delhi attaches to finding a solution that takes into account Ariha’s welfare as well as her Indian identity.
Indian authorities have particularly emphasised maintaining the child’s connection with her cultural heritage during the years she spends away from her family. Previous efforts have included seeking greater exposure to Indian festivals, religious traditions and an Indian language.
Family continues campaign
Ariha’s parents and supporters have continued campaigning for her repatriation. The “Save Ariha Team” has repeatedly appealed to the Indian government to intensify diplomatic efforts and bring the child back to India, arguing that the prolonged separation from her biological family has already lasted for a substantial part of her childhood.
Her mother, Dhara Shah, has also participated in demonstrations seeking greater intervention. The family’s campaign has increasingly focused not only on custody but also on Ariha’s cultural identity as she grows older in Germany.
The case has consequently developed beyond an individual custody dispute into a broader diplomatic and humanitarian question involving child welfare, parental rights and cultural identity across two different legal systems.
No fresh breakthrough
Despite sustained engagement, Friday’s remarks offered no indication of an immediate breakthrough. Jaiswal acknowledged that he did not have a new update on the substantive custody issue, while reiterating that the Indian Embassy remained involved.
That distinction is significant. India can continue diplomatic engagement and seek measures to protect Ariha’s cultural identity, but decisions concerning her foster care remain tied to German legal and child-welfare processes.
For New Delhi, the immediate task is therefore twofold: to continue pressing for a resolution while ensuring that Ariha retains meaningful links with the country, culture and family into which she was born. Nearly five years after she entered foster care as an infant, her case remains unresolved — and India has made clear that it intends to keep pursuing the matter with Germany.