Sonia Gandhi Releases Memoir Detailing Political Rivalry and Personal Grief

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi released her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, on November 10, 2026. The book chronicles her life from childhood in Italy to her political career in India, including her battle with breast cancer and the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. Gandhi specifically details the 1991 assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, criticizing the government of V.P. Singh for withdrawing his Special Protection Group cover.

A central focus of the memoir is Gandhi's 2004 decision to decline the Prime Minister's post following the United Progressive Alliance victory. She describes an internal conflict and opposition from her children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, who feared for her safety. Gandhi explains she nominated Manmohan Singh for the role due to his "unquestionable" integrity and economic expertise, denying subsequent allegations that she acted as a "back seat driver" during the UPA years.

Gandhi characterizes her relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a clash of ideological visions—secular inclusiveness versus RSS-driven fundamentalism—and reveals she has had "practically no real contact" with him despite their long rivalry. The release sparked immediate backlash from the Bharatiya Janata Party, with spokesperson C.R. Kesavan accusing Gandhi of attempting to "whitewash" historical wrongs, including the 1975 Emergency and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The publication followed a dispute with Penguin Random House India, which withdrew from the project in August; Gandhi attributes this to the publisher's unease with government criticism.