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Protest over 'Lioness Sita' and 'Lion Akbar' caged in same enclosure

The Hindu group is demanding that the lioness named 'Sita' should be separated from the 'lion Akbar'. Read More

Wednesday February 21, 2024 9:35 AM , Syed Ali Mujtaba

[Representation]

Chennai: The Calcutta High Court is hearing a petition filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) cadres as to why a zoo in Siliguri, West Bengal has put a lioness named 'Sita' in the same enclosure with a lion that shares the name with the 'Mughal Emperor Akbar'.

The Hindu group is demanding that the lioness named 'Sita' should be separated from the 'lion Akbar'.

They should not share the same enclosure as the two animals belonging to different religious faiths and as such smack love jihad, which is sacrilegious, the VHP said.

The petition in the court filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) says such a misdemeanor has hurt Hindu religious sensibilities and the animals should be separated.

“Sita cannot stay with Akbar,” VHP leader Anup Mondal told reporters in Kolkata.

“Such naming of animals after the name of religious deities is very much sacrilegious and tantamount to blasphemy,” media reports quoted Mondal as saying.

In its petition, the VHP has also demanded action against the officials of the zoo in Siliguri where the two animals’ male and female are put in the same cage.

Alarmed by the VHP protest, the zoo officials separated the two lions and transferred them to the zoo in Tripura.

The protests by the VHP have sparked concerns in India about the rising intolerance by the Hindu hardliner groups.

And, this is cited as yet another example of how Hindu extremist groups are raising the Spector of Intolerance and setting an example of how their actions and words may inspire the coming generation.

[Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com]

 

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