VHP moves Calcutta HC over ‘Akbar’-‘Sita’ lion pair at Siliguri Safari Park

| Updated: 17 February, 2024 5:59 pm IST

VHP moves Calcutta HC over lion 'Akbar' paired with lioness 'Sita' at Siliguri Safari Park. (Image representative/X)

NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)’s Bengal division has filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court contesting the decision of the West Bengal forest department to reportedly house a lion named ‘Akbar’ together with a lioness named ‘Sita’ in the same enclosure at Siliguri’s Safari Park, as per LiveLaw.

The VHP filed a plea at the Calcutta HC’s circuit bench in Jalpaiguri on February 16. The case is scheduled for hearing on February 20, which falls on Tuesday.

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The case has named the state’s forest department authorities and the director of Bengal’s Safari Park as respondents.

“Vishwa Hindu Parishad has with deep anguish observed that a species of cat family has been named after the name of “SITA” the consort of Lord Rama and she is a sacred deity to all Hindus across the world. Such act amounts to blasphemy and is a direct assault on the religious belief of all Hindus,” read the plea.

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“That to the utmost surprise of the petitioners on 14/02/2024 Uttar Banga Sambad carried a news item with the heading “Sangir khoje astir Sita” (Sita restless in search of a partner). Incidentally, the male lion was given the name of “Akbar”. The said article indicated in a lewd way and represented the news in a much objection manner which was bound to hurt the religious sentiments of all Hindus across the country,” it added.

In response to the dispute, the forest department stated that the lions were relocated from the Sepahijala Zoological Park in Tripura and were not given new names upon their arrival at the Safari Park on February 13.

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The conservative group is upset because Akbar was a historical Mughal ruler, while Sita is a revered Hindu deity from Valmiki’s ‘Ramayana’.

As reported by LiveLaw, the VHP argues that the state’s forest department named the lions, and pairing ‘Sita’ with ‘Akbar’ was seen as disrespectful to Hindus. The organisation has requested a renaming of the lioness.

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