The Iron Lady of Manipur and 46-year-old civil rights activist Irom Sharmila gave birth to twin girls on Mother's Day in Bengaluru. The delivery happened at Malleshwaram branch of the Cloudnine hospital.
She gave birth after 35 weeks of pregnancy through a C-section, and the babies were born a minute apart at 9:21 am on Sunday.
According to the hospital authorities, both the mother and babies are in good health. Irom Sharmila had settled in Kodaikanal after losing the assembly poll in 2017 when she was defeated by Chief Minister Ibobi Singh from Thoubal.
Back in 2017, Sharmila married her lover Goan-born British national Desmond Coutinho in Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu.
Sharmila and her husband have named their daughters Nix Sakhi and Autumn Tara. The babies weighed 2.16 kg and 2.15 kg, respectively, at the time of the delivery.
"This is a new life, a new beginning for me. I am very happy. Neither Desmond nor I had any preference, we just wanted healthy children," Sharmila was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Sharmila is known for her 16-year hunger strike against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state of Manipur. Known to have refused food or drink for 500 weeks, she has been called "the world's longest hunger striker."
