New Delhi: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has unveiled the first look of her upcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, with the book scheduled to hit shelves on November 10. Published by HarperCollins India, the memoir promises a personal account of her life, relationships, family losses and eventual entry into Indian politics.
Sonia shared the announcement on Instagram on Thursday, expressing gratitude as she introduced the book to readers. Describing it as a story of “love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong”, she said she looked forward to sharing her journey with the public.
The unveiling comes months after controversy surrounding the book’s proposed publication in India, including disagreements over suggested editorial changes to the manuscript.
What Is Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir About?
Belonging: A Journey of Love traces Sonia Gandhi’s journey from her childhood in Italy to her life in India and her years as one of the country’s most prominent political figures.
The narrative begins in 1965, when Sonia Maino, then a 19-year-old student in Cambridge, England, met Rajiv Gandhi, the grandson of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. She moved to India in 1968 and began adapting to a new country, language and culture.
The memoir also recounts her introduction to her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the changes that followed as she became part of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi And The Family Tragedies
The book revisits several defining events in Sonia Gandhi’s life, including the death of Rajiv Gandhi’s younger brother, Sanjay Gandhi, in a plane crash in 1980.
It also reflects on Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination during an election campaign in Tamil Nadu in 1991. These events profoundly changed the family’s life and shaped Sonia’s eventual relationship with public service and politics.
The memoir explores her decision to remain in India after Rajiv Gandhi’s death, despite her earlier preference for a life away from active politics.
It also covers her tenure as Congress president, her role during the formation of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and her decision to decline the Prime Minister’s post following the Congress-led coalition’s victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
Why Did Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir Face A Publishing Dispute?
The book’s India publication plans encountered a dispute after Penguin Random House India, initially expected to publish the memoir domestically, stepped away following disagreements over proposed editorial changes.
Congress leaders raised concerns about suggested changes to passages reportedly touching on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), communal tensions, minorities and India-China relations.
Penguin Random House India maintained that editorial recommendations and fact-checking were part of its standard publishing process and said it remained willing to publish the book. HarperCollins India subsequently took over the Indian edition and announced its release for November.
The episode brought additional attention to the memoir before its publication.
A Personal Account Of Six Decades Of Indian Politics
Beyond her personal experiences, the memoir is expected to offer reflections on India’s political journey over several decades, including Sonia Gandhi’s time leading the Congress, her relationship with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and her interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The book brings together themes of identity, family, grief and political responsibility. Its November 10 release will give readers an opportunity to explore Sonia Gandhi’s account of the experiences that took her from Italy to the centre of Indian public life.
