Indian court asks lions, named for a Hindu goddess and a Muslim emperor, be renamed ‘to avoid controversy’
- An Indian court said the pair named after a Hindu goddess and a Muslim emperor should be given new names to avoid ‘controversy’
- The ruling came after a petition from a right-wing Hindu organisation said the lion pair’s cohabitation was an act of ‘blasphemy that hurt Hindu religious sentiments
Sita and Akbar were shipped to Siliguri zoo in West Bengal this month as part of an animal exchange programme from a neighbouring state.
That irked the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a prominent right-wing Hindu organisation that has campaigned against interfaith relationships.
The group took the matter to court, saying the lion pair’s cohabitation was an act of “blasphemy” that hurt Hindu religious sentiments.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya of the Kolkata High Court asked government counsel to rename the pair on Thursday.
“These names should be avoided and discontinued to avoid unnecessary controversy,” he said from the bench, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper.
Government counsel Joyjit Choudhury told the judge that the state was “already thinking of renaming” the pair.
