Sonia Gandhi Memoir Recounts 2002 Gujarat Riot Horrors
Sonia Gandhi released a memoir detailing her visits to 2002 Gujarat riot victims and accusing Narendra Modi's administration of failing to stop the violence.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi released her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, on November 10, 2026, detailing her experiences during the 2002 Gujarat riots. In the book, Gandhi describes a wrenching moment in an Ahmedabad relief camp when a father pleaded for help for his sexually assaulted daughter during a visit by an all-party delegation.
Gandhi attributes the violence to the Bajrang Dal and fringes of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. She explicitly blames the state administration under then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi for failing to respond to the riots. The narrative also notes that while Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was expected to dismiss Modi, party pressure reportedly prevented the move.
Additionally, Gandhi highlights a contradiction in international diplomacy. She notes that the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe felicitated Modi after he became Prime Minister, despite their 2005 declarations that they would not grant him a visa due to the riots.
