Lioness Sita And Lion Akbar Belonging To Different Religious Faiths Smack Love Jihad
By
Syed Ali Mujtaba, New Age Islam
21 February
2024
The
Calcutta High Court is hearing a petition filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) cadres as to why a zoo in Silliguri, 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 two animals belonging
to different religious faiths and as such smack love jihad, which is
sacrilegious.
According to reports, the two big cats were brought to the Siliguri zoo
from Tripura's Sepahijala Zoo along with eight other animals, as part of an
animal exchange programme on February 12. (Representational Photo)
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The
petition in the court filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) says such a misdemeanour
has hurt Hindu religious sensibilities and the animals should be separated.
Media
reported; “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,” he added.
In its
petition, VHP has demanded action against the officials of the Zoo in Silliguri
where the two animals’ male and female are put in the same cage.
Alarmed at
the protest the VHP, and 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. This is 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.
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Syed Ali
Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai.
URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/lioness-sita-lion-akbar-religious-faiths-love-jihad/d/131765