The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has filed a petition with the Jalpaiguri circuit bench of the Kolkata High Court, contesting the naming of a lioness ‘Sita’ at the Bengal Safari Park in Siliguri, West Bengal.
The controversy arose after two lions, one named ‘Akbar’ and the other ‘Sita,’ were brought from Tripura to the Bengal Safari Park on February 12. The VHP argues that naming the lioness ‘Sita’ is disrespectful to Hindu sentiments, as Sita is a revered figure in Hindu mythology.
The Hindutva group is now incensed by the pairing of Akbar with Sita. While Akbar shares his name with a Mughal emperor, Sita is a revered Hindu deity from the epic Ramayan.
VHP district chief Dulal Chandra Ray expressed strong opposition to the naming, labeling it an attack on Hinduism.
Subhankar Dutta, who is counsel for the VHP, said the government documents identified the two lions as “male and female Panthera lions”.
“After they arrived here, they were named Akbar and Sita. So we have asked that the latter be changed. We have made the state zoo authorities and the Bengal Safari Park director parties to the case,” Dutta said.
The court is set to hear the case on February 20, while forest department officials have refrained from commenting on the matter.