Source: AFP
NEW DELHI — India urged Norway on Monday to act quickly to reunite two Indian children with their parents after Norwegian child welfare services put them into foster care eight months ago.
Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya lost custody of three-year-old Avigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya after Norwegian officials objected to their feeding the children by hand and sharing the same bed, according to press reports.
These are common practices in India, where they are seen as part of the bonding between mother and child.
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters he had urged the Norwegian authorities “to find an amicable and urgent solution to ensure that the children are returned to the biological parents”.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere’s office said in a statement that he had spoken with his Indian counterpart Monday and had assured him that Norwegian authorities were “working hard to find a solution that is in the best interests of the children involved”.