New Delhi, Sept 5:
HarperCollins India will publish Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love in India on November 10, ending uncertainty over the book’s domestic release following a dispute with its earlier publisher.
HarperCollins India announced on Friday that it would bring out the memoir on the same date as its international release by Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The development follows Penguin Random House India’s decision to withdraw from publishing the book after an impasse with representatives of the author over editorial changes.
Several Congress leaders had raised concerns about alleged government pressure, claiming that there were attempts to remove portions dealing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and China’s occupation of Indian territory during the Modi government.
Penguin Random House India denied any external pressure and said it had been keen to publish the memoir. However, the publisher said an agreement could not be reached on a particular issue and it subsequently stepped away from the project.
HarperCollins described the book as one of the most anticipated political memoirs and said it offered a deeply personal account of love, identity, duty and belonging, as well as an insider’s perspective on India’s political journey.
The memoir begins with Gandhi’s childhood in post-war Veneto, Italy, and traces her move to Cambridge, where she met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965. It recounts her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi and her introduction to his mother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
The book also covers her adjustment to life in India, including learning Hindi and adapting to Indian food and culture. It recounts the deaths of Sanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and examines the political developments surrounding the Congress-led alliance’s 2004 election victory.
The memoir also deals with Sonia Gandhi’s decision not to become prime minister after the 2004 election and her subsequent leadership of the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance, which governed India for a decade.