Give us love, we want peace, says Mary Kom

Healing touch

An inspiration to millions of women in India, boxer M C Mary Kom is the face of North-Eastern people who have crossed several barriers through sheer hard work and determination to bring laurels to the country. 

Just days after newspapers and television channels took great pride in splashing images of her winning a bronze medal at the London Olympics, they were forced to show heart-rending images of thousands of North-Easterners fleeing major cities, including Bangalore, for their homes, taken aback by hate messages.

The boxing champ has a simple message to the mischief mongers: Give us love. We want peace.

“When I got to know of this, I was very upset,” said five-time world champion, who was in Bangalore on Wednesday to attend a felicitation function along with fellow bronze medallist Saina Nehwal.

“My humble request is, please give us love. We all want love and peace. If we don’t have unity in the country, we athletes can’t perform well in the next competition. It affects us mentally,” added Mary, who hails from Kangathei district of Manipur.

“Bangalore is a lovely city. I’ve been here a few times and I’ve also heard from many people about its wonderful weather. Manipur can get really, really hot during summer. In fact, I’ve told my husband (Onler Kom) many times that after my retirement we should settle down in Bangalore. I just hope all the North-East people who have fled Bangalore in the last week return to restart their lives,” added Mary Kom.

Born to a landless agricultural family in a place where just four hours of electricity a day was considered a luxury, Mary has battled odds all her life to emerge an inspiration for the youth of the country. The super mom -- she won two world championships after giving birth to twins -- hoped more would follow her example.

“I hope the young girls in India get motivated and take up sports as a path to excellence,” said Mary.

“I just hope they say if Mary didi can do it despite all the hardships she has gone through, even we can do it. The big problem in Indian society is after marriage, many sportswomen retire to raise their families.

“Considering I was able to win two world championships and a bronze medal after becoming a mother, I am very confident plenty of women across the country will be able to achieve big things even after becoming mothers. I just hope I can inspire them,” said the Olympic bronze medallist and five-time world champion.

Special trains from N-E back

All the special trains run by the South Western Railways to Guwahati, to meet the rush of North-Eastern community members who left Bangalore, have returned home.