Sonia's memoir ‘Belonging’ to be published by HarperCollins on Nov 10
CONGRESS veteran Sonia Gandhi's memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love,' will be published by HarperCollins after Penguin Random House India backed out. The book will be published on November 10, the publisher said.
The memoir, in which Sonia Gandhi is expected to divulge details about her childhood in Italy, her marriage into the Nehru-Gandhi family, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and her entry into politics, has witnessed a massive political row ahead of its international publication.
Penguin Random House India backtracked on its decision to publish the memoir, earlier announced by its US-based imprint, Alfred A Knopf.
Row over Sonia Gandhi's memoir
While Congress leaders raised issues of governmental pressure and freedom of expression over the content, Penguin India denied such claims. Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot alleged Penguin India was pressured to remove sections on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and China's occupation of Indian territory during the Modi regime.
“The real issue is that pressure was put on Penguin India to remove the portions related to Modi, the RSS, and the occupation of Indian territory by China during Modi's rule. This is the murder of democracy,” Gehlot alleged.
BJP, meanwhile, challenged the claims and questioned the contents of the book. “Whether the book written by Sonia Gandhi is a memoir or fiction is a matter to be decided between the author and the publisher. If a work labelled as a memoir turns out to be fiction, the publisher will certainly assess that before making a decision,” BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Penguin India's stance
Denying the allegations, PRHI said the manuscript underwent the "normal editorial process" during which several points were raised and discussed with the author's representatives.
"On some, they agreed to changes and on others, we accepted the author's position. Unfortunately, and ultimately, an understanding could not be reached on a particular issue," PTI quoted the publisher's statement.
Penguin India further said Sonia Gandhi's team later informed the publisher that they did not wish to proceed with the publication.
"Since we are bound by an agreement, and author confidentiality is paramount to us, we will not divulge details of what led to the impasse," the publisher said.
