Calcutta HC asks Bengal to rename lions ‘Akbar,’ & ‘Sita’ to avoid controversy.

‘Why Create Controversy Naming Lion & Lioness After Sita & Akbar?’: Calcutta High Court Suggests State To Change Animals’ Names

The court was hearing a petition by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to change the name of the lioness….

:Sunayna Das | HENB | Kolkata | Feb 22, 2024::  The Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, called on the state to rename the lioness named ‘Sita’ and a lion named ‘Akbar’ and asked who had given this name, causing controversy.

The court was hearing a petition by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to change the name of the lioness, Live Law reported.

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday, directed for the reclassification of a plea moved by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad as a public interest litigation, and for it to be placed before the regular bench having determination over PILs.

The court was hearing a petition by the Bengal wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) which opposed the West Bengal government’s decision to keep the two big cats together. The outfit demanded a change in the name of the lioness, contending that keeping the two animals together was disrespectful to Hindus.

The West Bengal government informed the court that the naming of the two lions was done by the Tripura Zoo authorities in 2016 and 2018 before their recent transfer to the Bengal Safari Park.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) Debjyoti Choudhary argued that the issue over their names only cropped up once the lions arrived in West Bengal.

The court asked the state government’s lawyer whether he would name his pet after a Hindu God, or Muslim Prophet, or freedom fighter or nobel laureate.

“These are the uncontroversial names. Will you name a lion after a Hindu deity, a Muslim prophet, or Christian god, or freedom fighter, or a nobel laureate? Generally, anyone who is revered or respected by the people of our country?” the bench orally remarked.

A single-judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya had earlier directed the State counsel to obtain instructions on whether the pair of lions brought in from Tripura Zoo were named ‘Akbar’ and ‘Sita’ by the West Bengal Zoo.

Justice Bhattacharya orally expressed strong views on the ‘controversial names’ given to the pair of animals. He remarked, “Who has given this name? Causing controversy? I was thinking whether any animal can be given a name after a god, mythological hero, freedom fighter, or Nobel laureate. You are a welfare state and it is a secular state. Why should you draw controversy by naming a lion after Sita and Akbar?”

The judge said that this controversy could be avoided. He further stated that Sita and even naming a lion ‘Akbar’ is not good. Praising Akbar, Bhattacharya said if the naming was already done, the state authority should shun it and avoid it. West Bengal should have challenged the names given, as per the Live Law.

Post Script: It is strange that Akbar & Sita were so named in zoo of Tripura, a state run by the BJP  for the last 7 years. But all the uproars by the VHP,  BJP, and Hindutvawadis in Sangha Circle  are found proactive in West Bengal. If Zoo department in Tripura under a BJP Govt there facilitated the lion  Akbar  to  do something with lioness Sita, that is not objectionable.  But, the same thing is highly objectionable, if it is happened in Bengal under a Non-BJP rule.  The bankruptcy of Sanghis are ultimate.