Naming a lion after a Mughal Muslim emperor causes uproar in India (Shutterstock)

A Supreme Court in India asked the West Bengal state government to rename the lion “Akbar” and the lioness “Sita,” after their names sparked controversy over their placement in the same enclosure in the state zoo.

Indian citizens expressed their refusal to name the lion “Akbar” after a Muslim emperor, and “Sita” after a Hindu goddess.

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According to what Indian newspapers reported, “The Vishwa Hindu Parishad Association expressed its objection to the decision of the government of the state of West Bengal in eastern India to keep the lions together, and submitted a petition to the Supreme Court in the city of Calcutta - the state capital - demanding that the name of the lioness be changed, considering that keeping the two lions together in The same barn is disrespectful to Hindus.”

The lion, Akbar, is named after the 16th-century Mughal Muslim emperor, who is seen as a beacon of tolerance. He had a Hindu wife, and many of his key advisors were Hindus.

On the other hand, Akbar is considered a greatly hated figure by a wide segment of Hindu nationalists, like most of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty that ruled a large portion of the Indian subcontinent.

The decision to rename the lioness “Sita” and the lion “Akbar” was issued after the court questioned the state government’s lawyer about naming the animals after prominent figures.

Justice Saugata Bhattacharya criticized the controversial names and said that he does not support such names. The court asked who gave this name?

I also asked the state government lawyer whether he would name his pet after a Hindu god, a Muslim prophet, a freedom fighter or a Nobel laureate?

The judge had earlier asked the state counsel for information on whether the pair of lions brought from the Tripura Zoo had been named "Akbar" and "Sita" by the West Bengal Zoo authorities.

For his part, Anup Mondal, an official in the association affiliated with the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, “Sita cannot stay with the Mughal Emperor Akbar. We have received complaints about hurting religious sentiments from all over India.” ".

After the petition was filed, the lions were moved to separate enclosures, apparently to ensure that a "Muslim" lion would not mate with a "Hindu" lioness in a country that has been gripped by Hindu nationalist sentiment in recent years under BJP rule.

“What actually shocks me is that this is a court case now,” said Moumita Sen, assistant professor of cultural studies at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society. “I find it worrying that seemingly trivial matters have become serious, life-threatening crimes in India.”

“The dangerous thing about this is that this would set a precedent in a court of law,” Sen added.

The association claimed that “Akbar” was initially named “Ram,” a Hindu god and husband of “Sita,” but the West Bengal authorities renamed him, which the West Bengal authorities denied, stressing that the lions came with their names from Tripura.

The 7-year-old Asiatic lion and 5-year-old Asiatic lioness were brought to the park from neighboring Tripura as part of an animal exchange program along with other animals.

The state government told the Supreme Court that Tripura Zoo authorities had named the two lions in 2016 and 2018 before transporting them to West Bengal.

However, this is not the first time that animals in Indian zoos have been named after Indian gods and goddesses. There is also a white tigress named “Sita” in the Delhi Zoo, and a cheetah in the Kuno National Park in the state of Madhya Pradesh was also named after her. The Indian god of fire, Agni.

Sarcasm on social media platforms

The incident sparked ridicule from some activists on social media platforms, and some of them posted a picture drawn by artificial intelligence showing a lion, supposedly Akbar, wearing an embroidered royal Mughal outfit, and next to it is what appears to be Sita, wearing a royal Hindu outfit against the background of the royal court.

Lo bhai correct kar liya 😭 pic.twitter.com/megZdWu1VG

- Muhammad Faisal 🇵🇸 Proud Converted (@2witter_dot_com) February 18, 2024

While another posted a picture of a Muslim lion and a Hindu lioness behind bars.

The Hindu Group VHP moves to High Court against keeping Lioness 'Sita' with Lion 'Akbar' at Bengal Safari Park.

VHP thinks housing 'Sita' with 'Akbar' is an insult to the Hindu Religion.

@10DowningStreet @POTUS @JustinTrudeau @EmmanuelMacron @GiorgiaMeloni @markrutte @BBCBreaking pic.twitter.com/OV26oiv8aC

- MM Abraham (@MMAbraham522577) February 19, 2024

Muslims, who number more than 200 million out of the country's estimated population of 1.4 billion, have suffered persecution and racial discrimination since the party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power on May 26, 2014.

About 10 years ago, Modi launched a series of measures and approved policies against Muslims, which he began by abolishing the special status of Indian Kashmir and restricting Muslims.

The ruling party then proceeded to amend the citizenship law and require Muslims to have documents proving that their ancestors were in India before 1971. The party then passed the law granting Indian citizenship to immigrants on the condition that they are not Muslims.

Source: Al Jazeera + Indian press + websites