Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love—a 544-page account published by Knopf with an initial print run of 1 lakh copies—opens a rare window into the life of one of India’s most reticent political figures.
From post-war Italy and her arrival in Cambridge in 1965 to the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, her reluctant entry into politics and her decision to decline the Prime Minister’s post in 2004, the memoir spans some of the most defining moments of modern Indian politics.
But why has Sonia Gandhi chosen to break nearly 30 years of silence at 79?
On BottomLine, Prabhu Chawla examines the politics behind the personality, the Gandhi Parivar’s enduring place in Indian politics, and the controversy surrounding the Penguin–HarperCollins row over alleged deletions concerning Narendra Modi, the RSS and China.
Is Belonging a deeply personal love story—or a survival manual for the Gandhi dynasty?