A week after the deal with Penguin Random House India to publish Sonia Gandhi’s memoir fell through over alleged differences in editorial changes, HarperCollins India announced that it will be publishing the much-awaited memoir on November 10 this year.
“HarperCollins India will publish Belonging: A Journey of Love by Sonia Gandhi. The long-awaited memoir will be published in India on 10 November 2026. One of the most anticipated political memoirs of our time, Belonging is a dramatic and deeply personal story of love, identity, duty and belonging, and offers a rare insider’s view of India’s journey.” HarperCollins India stated in an Instagram post.
Penguin’s statement
Penguin issued a statement on August 28, saying, “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.”
“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. We will not comment further on confidential discussions with the author,” it added.
Proposed editorial changes
The Indian Express, quoting sources, had reported that the publishing house wanted specific “editorial changes and deletions” in “a part of the manuscript” that Sonia Gandhi rejected.
Gandhi reportedly refused to delete or edit references to Chinese intrusion into Indian borders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological front of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hindustan Times reported.
Gandhi had asserted that it was her story and there would be no question of permitting any distortions to her telling of her life. One of her aides told HT that Penguin India wanted certain sections of the memoir removed. Among them were her observations and recollections of meeting Modi. She had gone in depth about remarks made by the PM about her and an instance where she was called a “Jersey cow” during a public rally in Gujarat in 2004.
