Why Sonia Gandhi’s memoir has landed in a publishing controversy

Penguin Random House India on Friday issued a statement clarifying that it is not the publisher in India of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.

The clarification came following media reports claiming that the publisher had withdrawn from releasing the memoir in India after Gandhi reportedly rejected proposed editorial changes.

“Penguin Random House India is not the publisher of ‘Belonging’ in India. Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish ‘Belonging’ because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” the statement said.

‘Keen to publish the book’

Penguin Random House India said it remained “keen to publish the book” and stressed that fact-checking and recommending editorial changes were a normal part of the publishing process.

“As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is a normal part of the publishing process. Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India’s position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book. We will not comment further on confidential discussions with the author,” the statement said.

The memoir chronicles Gandhi’s journey from her childhood in post-war Italy and the romance that brought her to India to the personal tragedies that profoundly shaped her life and her relationship with her adopted country.

Gandhi, 79, who is the longest-serving president of the Congress party, recounts her childhood in Italy, her romance with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during their time in Cambridge, and the assassinations of her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and her husband.

Born in Italy, Sonia Gandhi was a 19-year-old student in Cambridge, England, when she met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965. The couple married on February 25, 1968.

Rahul Gandhi on mother’s memoir

Earlier this month, on the 82nd birth anniversary of his father, Rajiv Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi expressed his excitement about his mother’s memoir.

“I am happy, and so proud, that your story -’Belonging: A Journey of Love’ - will finally be read by the millions of people who love you. I know how hard it was for someone as private as you to tell the world your beautiful story. Today, on his birthday, I can see Papa smiling and looking down proudly at his beautiful Sonia,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced on August 18 that Belonging: A Journey of Love would be published on November 10.

Knopf is an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is part of Penguin Random House in the United States. Penguin Random House’s parent company is Bertelsmann.

Following Penguin Random House India’s clarification, it remains unclear when Belonging will be released in India and which publishing house will bring out the Indian edition.

- with inputs from ANI