'Why name lions Akbar, Sita?': Calcutta HC asks Bengal to rename big cats

The Calcutta High Court stated that West Bengal is currently embroiled in various conflicts, including one over the names of lions, which can be avoided

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government to rename the lion 'Akbar' and the lioness 'Sita' who share an enclosure at Bengal Safari Park, reported Bar and Bench.

The court asked the state government's counsel if he would name his own pet after a Hindu god or a Muslim prophet.

A single-judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharya said Sita is worshipped by a large section of people in the country and Akbar was a "secular Mughal emperor".

"Mr Counsel, will you yourself name your own pet after some Hindu god or Muslim prophet? I think, if any one of us would have been the authority, none of us would have named them as Akbar and Sita. Can any of us think of naming an animal after Rabindranath Tagore?" the court said.

"Sita is worshipped by a larger section of this country. I also oppose naming the lion after Akbar. He was an efficient, successful and secular Mughal emperor," it added.

The court was hearing a petition by the Bengal unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which opposed the West Bengal government's decision to keep the two big cats together. The outfit demanded a change in the lioness' name, claiming that keeping the two creatures together was disrespectful to Hindus.

The West Bengal government informed the court that the two lions were named by Tripura Zoo authorities in 2016 and 2018, respectively, prior to their recent transfer to the Bengal Safari Park.

Additional Advocate General Debjyoti Choudhary contended that the dispute over their names arose only after the lions arrived in West Bengal.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharya's direction to the state government contradicted his comments on Wednesday that the lioness could have been given the name 'Sita' out of affection. "How does it matter at all?" the judge asked while adding that the lion at the foot of goddess Durga was worshipped by everyone.

However, on Thursday, Justice Bhattacharya noted that he had thought about the issue overnight and wondered whether an animal should be named after a god, a mythological character, or a freedom fighter.

"We aren't talking about the names of the pet animals of an officer of the zoo department. But you are a welfare and a secular state, why should you draw a controversy by naming a lion after Sita and Akbar," the judge added.

"You could have named it Bijli or something like that. But why give such names of Akbar and Sita?" the court further asked.

The Calcutta High Court further stated that West Bengal is currently embroiled in various conflicts, including one over the names of lions, which can be avoided.

Advocate Debjyoti Choudhary assured the court that the lions would be given new names but urged the court to dismiss the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's petition. The court ordered the Hindu group's plea to be reclassified as a public interest litigation and listed it before the bench, which hears public interest litigations.