Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir Row: The Controversies Surrounding Books On Nehru-Gandhi Family

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s upcoming memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', has renewed attention on controversies surrounding books about the Nehru-Gandhi family. From disagreements over manuscript edits to legal action against an unauthorised account of her life, publications about the family have repeatedly sparked political debates.

In a video shared on X on Tuesday, Gandhi said she decided to write the memoir to address what she considers inaccuracies, inventions and exaggerations in accounts of her life over the years. In the caption accompanying the video, she said there would be a 'tamasha' when the book came out, adding that after others had spent decades telling her story, it was now her turn.

Gandhi also recalled opposing her husband, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s decision to become Prime Minister, and suggested that the memoir could change how readers perceive her.

The book traces her life from her childhood in post-war Italy and her relationship with Rajiv Gandhi during their time at Cambridge to the assassinations of her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and her husband.

The Memoir Row: Why Penguin India withdrew

Gandhi's memoir first attracted wider attention months ago when Penguin Random House India (PRHI) decided against publishing 'Belonging: A Journey of Love.'

the disagreement followed the publisher’s request for editorial changes and deletions in a section of the manuscript. The proposed changes were rejected by the author, leading to the decision not to publish the book.

The dispute brought questions of editorial intervention and an author’s control over a manuscript into focus. It also added to a longer history of disagreements involving books about the Nehru-Gandhi family, whose political prominence has made accounts of their personal lives subjects of public interest.

The upcoming publication by Alfred A Knopf has brought memoir back into the spotlight, with HarperCollins India set to release the Indian edition on November 10, the same date as the international release.

The Red Sari Controversy

Another major dispute arose over The Red Sari, a dramatised account of Sonia Gandhi’s life written by Spanish author Javier Moro.

Originally published in Spain in October 2008 under the title El Sari Rojo, the book was subsequently translated into Italian, French and Dutch. An English translation was later completed by Peter Hearn. The title reportedly referred to the sari woven by Jawaharlal Nehru for Indira Gandhi, which Sonia Gandhi wore at her wedding.

The Congress objected to Moro’s portrayal of Sonia Gandhi’s life in Italy. Her legal representatives, including Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, sought the withdrawal of the book and maintained that it was unauthorised, defamatory and contained salacious material.

Moro said the objections extended to passages depicting Sonia Gandhi’s life before she settled in India and her thoughts following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. He also claimed that the manuscript had been sent to Sonia Gandhi through her sister Nadia before publication, but that he received no response, reported Indian Express.

The book could not be published in India while the Congress was in power and eventually appeared in the country in 2015, after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister.

Indira's Biography & Maneka Gandhi’s Allegations

The controversy surrounding books about the family also extended to a biography of Indira Gandhi. In 2001, Maneka Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi’s sister-in-law, won a libel suit against author Catherine Frank and publisher HarperCollins over 'Indira: The Life of Indira Gandhi.'

The book contained claims that Maneka and her late husband, Sanjay Gandhi, objected to. By then a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Maneka accused Sonia Gandhi of being involved in the book’s preparation because Frank had acknowledged her for providing inputs.

Maneka alleged that Sonia Gandhi was attempting to improve her own image by damaging the reputations of other members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

The Congress rejected the allegation. Party leader Ambika Soni argued that Maneka was exaggerating the outcome of the legal case, which had resulted in the deletion of one paragraph rather than the removal of the entire book. Soni also criticised Maneka for targeting Sonia Gandhi, then the Leader of the Opposition.

The dispute soon became political, with the Congress questioning Maneka’s own past disagreements with Indira Gandhi and her move to the BJP.