Sonia Gandhi Memoir Sees Record Sales After Publisher Dispute

Sonia Gandhi released her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, on November 10, triggering unprecedented demand across India. Bookstores in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata report high foot traffic, with some owners describing the launch as the biggest of the decade across all genres. Sales have remained strong on e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, and Blinkit.

The book's path to publication was marked by a public conflict with Penguin Random House India. Gandhi stated that the publisher withdrew from the project because it was "uneasy in general with the criticism of the government" and because she refused to accept edits. Penguin Random House India countered that the withdrawal resulted from an impasse during editorial and fact-checking discussions.

Following the dispute, HarperCollins Publishers India released the Indian edition, while Alfred A. Knopf published the edition for the United States market.