Exclusive: Penguin India sought cuts to Modi, RSS, China portions in Sonia Gandhi's memoir

Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin, is expected to release the memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, worldwide on November 10

Updated on: Aug 28, 2026, 16:23:16 IST

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Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s book deal with Penguin Random House India (PRHI) fell through as she refused to make changes or deletions of references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s ideological fount, and Chinese intrusions, . Gandhi, 79, maintained that it is her story and there was no question of allowing any distortions to her telling of her life, a person aware of the matter said.

Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin, is expected to release the memoir, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, worldwide on November 10. HarperCollins in reportedly close to finalising an agreement to publish and distribute the book in India, even as it did not comment when asked.

One of Gandhi’s aides told about some of the sections that PRHI wanted removed. Primary among them were her recollections and observations about her meetings with Modi. The aide confirmed that she has gone into details about his comments about her and cited one calling her a “Jersey cow” at a public rally in Gujarat in 2004.

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“She has had a long career in politics, and therefore her memoir is expansive. She has certainly given her impressions of the Prime Minister and details of what happened when they met,” said the aide. “As a politician, she mentions how this issue was handled, but the publishers had problems with it.”

PRHI initially objected to several passages. The book deal finally broke down over three or four crucial passages which she did not remove. It is learnt that Sonia Gandhi compares Modi to other Prime Ministers in the memoir. It is unclear exactly what Gandhi is reported to have written on the RSS.

PRHI issued a statement, maintaining that any suggestion that it decided not to publish the memoir because Gandhi 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.”

The Congress dismissed the statement. “If Penguin worldwide has published, then… [PRHI] claim of fact-checking is ridiculous.”

Independent literary agents handled the memoir, and most Congress leaders are unaware of the full contents.

PRHI objected to Gandhi’s references to the India-China relationship and intrusions into Indian territory. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, have been demanding the government come clean on the situation at the Line of Actual Control with China. They have accused the government of making false claims.

In February, much of Parliament’s Budget session was disrupted over former Army chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir, which PRHI commissioned.

Opposition parties disrupted the House, demanding that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak about it. Speaker Om Birla did not allow Gandhi to refer to an article about the Naravane memoir, citing rules. Senior ministers also opposed it.

The impasse started when Rahul Gandhi wanted to refer to a magazine article with excerpts from Naravane’s unpublished memoir. Outside the House, Gandhi carried a copy of Naravane’s book and said he would present it to Modi if the Prime Minister came to Parliament. He maintained that the “book clearly states that when the Chinese army had entered our border, in such a critical moment, the Army Chief was made to wait. And when the time came to take a decision, the Prime Minister simply said – ‘Do whatever you think is appropriate’.”

Gandhi alleged that Naravane wrote that he felt the political leadership had “left the army alone.”

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi criticised PRHI’s statement, calling it weak. “Penguin India is more than happy to publish ‘Exam Warriors’ and several books on RSS. No doubt there are those in the BJP government who have now become afraid of a book being…read by the people of India,” Gogoi said on X.

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