Sonia Gandhi’s upcoming memoir sparks political debate before launch

Sonia Gandhi has said her upcoming memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love is a personal account of her family and not a political book. Ahead of its November 10 release, she has made rare appearances on social media, even as the memoir draws criticism and political controversy over her remarks on the Modi government and the Emergency.

New Delhi:  Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has described her forthcoming memoir as a deeply personal account of her family and their lives, stressing that the book is not meant to be a political tract.

In her first post on the social media platform X on Sunday, the Rajya Sabha MP shared memories of her late husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, describing him as a very good-looking and gentle person.

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The post marked her personal debut on the social media platform.

On Thursday, Sonia Gandhi had made her Instagram debut with posts about the book, calling it “a story of love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong”.

The 544-page memoir, titled ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, is scheduled for global release on November 10.

HarperCollins India will publish the Indian edition on the same day, resolving an earlier impasse between the author’s representatives and Penguin Random House India.

Explaining her decision to write the book, Sonia Gandhi said she wanted to present a more intimate and accurate portrait of her family.

“This is not a political book, it’s a personal one. Much has been written about my family, but rarely with real insight into who they were, their motivations, their struggles, their very human flaws. I wanted to portray them honestly, as people I knew and loved,” she said on X.

Her comments come amid fresh criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has questioned the purpose of the memoir.

The BJP said that the book contains political rhetoric rather than pure personal reflection.

The controversy intensified after an interview Sonia Gandhi gave to newspaper ‘The Hindu’ ahead of the memoir’s release.

In the conversation, she accused the Narendra Modi government of causing “great damage” to India’s democratic institutions, alleged control over mainstream media, and accused it of using religion for political gains.

She also defended the constitutional basis of the 1975 Emergency, prompting BJP leaders to accuse her of attempting to justify the period under the then PM Indira Gandhi’s rule.

Until now, Sonia Gandhi had largely stayed away from personal social media accounts, preferring to release statements and messages through the official Congress X account.

Her recent social media posts mark a rare public engagement in her own name just days before the memoir’s release.