An Indian court told a zoo in West Bengal to give different names to two lions because a strict Hindu group said the names were offensive to their religion.
The lioness was named Sita after a Hindu god, and the lion was named Akbar after a Mughal king from the 16th century.
VHP said it was disrespectful to name the lioness after a goddess.
It didn’t want the lions to stay in the wildlife park.
Two large cats currently live at the North Bengal Wild Animals Park in the Siliguri district.
On Thursday, the court ruled that animals should not be given names that are from Hindu gods, Muslim Prophets, Christian figures, Nobel laureates, and freedom fighters.
You could have named it lightning or something similar. “Why do we need to call them Akbar and Sita. ” Justice Saugata Bhattacharya wondered.
The court also wanted to know if it is a good idea to give pets, like dogs, the same names as people. The judge said you could have stayed out of trouble.
The VHP, which is connected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP, complained that people from all over the country had complained about the names of the lions.
“Sita is the wife of the Hindu god Lord Ram. She is also a very important goddess to Hindus everywhere. ” This is like insulting the Hindu religion and hurting the feelings of Hindu people.
The group said the government in West Bengal, which is led by a different political party, did this on purpose. They said they would protest if the authorities didn’t change the names and location of the big cats.
“Sita and Akbar are not allowed to live together,” said Vinod Bansal, a spokesperson for VHP.
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Indian zoo ordered to replace names of ‘blasphemous’ lions
