‘Was Willing And Keen To Publish’: Penguin India Responds To Sonia Gandhi Book Controversy

Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on Friday rejected reports that it had dropped Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love after a disagreement over editorial changes, stating that the publishing house was "willing and keen to publish the book."

The clarification followed a report by The Indian Express claiming that PRHI had decided against publishing the memoir after seeking “editorial changes and deletions” to part of the manuscript, which Gandhi allegedly declined.

“Penguin Random House India is not the publisher of Belonging in India. Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish Belonging because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” PRHI said in a statement.

The company said discussions around editorial changes were part of the normal publishing process and maintained that it had remained interested in publishing the book.

“As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is a normal part of the publishing process. Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India's position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book,” the statement added.

The controversy comes ahead of the memoir’s scheduled international release on November 10 through Alfred A Knopf, a Penguin Random House imprint. Knopf had previously announced an initial print run of 100,000 copies.

What Is Gandhi's Book About?

Belonging: A Journey of Love is expected to offer Gandhi’s account of her life, beginning with her childhood in post-war Italy, followed by her move to India and marriage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Knopf has described the book as a “riveting memoir by one of the world’s most prominent women leaders” centred on love, family and India.

Gandhi has said the memoir seeks to provide a more personal account of her family and her own experiences.

“Much has been written about my family, but few narratives were able to reach into the truth of their motivations, their actions and even their human failings…My story also offers readers a unique perspective of the social and political changes I have witnessed for six decades,” she said in the publisher’s announcement.