A legal battle has been initiated by an Indian Hindu nationalist organization to prevent two lions, named after a Hindu deity and a 16th-century Muslim emperor, from sharing an enclosure at a zoo.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a prominent rightwing Hindu organization, has taken the matter to court in the state of West Bengal following reports that a lioness named Sita had been placed with a lion named Akbar.
Akbar, a Mughal emperor who expanded Muslim rule over much of the Indian subcontinent, is a figure that Hindu nationalist groups view as representing a period of subjugation.
“Sita cannot coexist with the Mughal emperor Akbar,” stated VHP official Anup Mondal, expressing concerns about offending religious sentiments in the Hindu-majority country.
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The VHP has filed a plea calling for a name change, asserting that “such an act amounts to blasphemy and is a direct assault on the religious belief of all Hindus.”
Critics argue that religious intolerance has been on the rise in India since the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. General elections, expected to secure Modi a third term in power, are likely to be held in April.
Mondal revealed that the lion named Akbar was previously known as the Hindu deity Rama when he was in the neighboring state of Tripura, which is governed by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party.
However, the lion’s name was changed upon arrival in West Bengal, which is controlled by the opposition Trinamool Congress party. The VHP petition seeks to prohibit the use of religious names for animals in zoos.
A West Bengal forest department official, Dipak Kumar Mandal, confirmed that “the lion and the lioness are now kept separately.”
The case is set for a hearing on 20 February.
2024-02-18 09:27:38
Link from www.theguardian.com