Sonia Gandhi Memoir Controversy: Congress Alleges Govt Pressure On Penguin India

Penguin Random House India reportedly withdrew from publishing Sonia Gandhi's upcoming memoir following editorial disagreements, sparking intense political reactions. The book, Belonging: A Journey in Love, which features a photo of a young Sonia on its cover, remains scheduled for an international release on November 10 through US publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House.

Calling it a "murder of democracy", senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the government intervened. He said, "Pressure was put on Penguin India to remove the portions related to Narendra Modi, RSS and China's occupation of Indian territory during Modi's rule." The RSS is the ideological fountainhead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party in power at the Centre since 2014.

The publishing house stated its position clearly. "PRHI is not the publisher of 'Belonging' in India. Any suggestion that PRHI decided not to publish it because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances."

Publishing House Defends Process

The company stood by its editorial practices. PRHI defended its "prerogative and responsibility" to fact-check manuscripts and make recommendations to authors, adding that it remained "willing and keen" to publish the book.

There is a question mark over who the Indian rights belong to, but the buzz is that HarperCollins may bag them.

This is not the first time PRHI has halted a sensitive release in India. Earlier this year, the company stopped distributing cartoonist Joe Sacco's The Once and Future Riot, which focused on the Muzaffarnagar riots.

Congress Alleges Government Pressure

Opposition politicians launched sharp attacks against the ruling administration and the publisher. Gehlot questioned the differing editorial standards across regions. "What is the reason or what pressure is there that what is being published across the world cannot be published in India?" Gehlot asked.

He added, "Why is this truth being hidden from the people of India? Will the Modi govt alter even the facts by pressuring publishers?"

Gehlot also said, "Suppressing the book of a person of such stature, a senior leader of the nation, and former leader of the opposition, is tantamount to the murder of freedom of expression."

Kamal Nath echoed these concerns over freedom of expression in a post in Hindi. "Will the publisher decide what a senior figure like Mrs. Gandhi will write and what she will not? The question also arises whether the publisher is saying this on its own or if there is pressure from someone on it? Even before this, the publication of some important books has been stopped under suspicious circumstances. I consider this kind of trend a serious threat to the freedom of expression," Nath said.

Gaurav Gogoi dismissed the publisher's explanation as "weak", and said the firm gladly prints Exam Warriors and literature about the RSS. "No doubt there are those in the BJP govt who have now become afraid of a book being read by the people of India," Gogoi said.

Party youth wings intensified the criticism online. The Indian Youth Congress slammed the publication house, stating, "Dear SOLD Penguin, nobody asked whether you were 'keen'. Tell us what changes you wanted, and why. The rest is corporate grammar." In another post, IYC labelled the company the "Penguin Janta Party" and asked, "Penguin hai ya pinjare ka parinda?"

Meanwhile, the Kerala Congress posted a graphic stating, "Peacock blocking penguin is just an old man's fantasy. Nothing can stop 'Belonging' from reaching you."