- Sonia Gandhi's memoir Belonging will be published by HarperCollins India on November 10
- Penguin Random House India denied being the memoir's publisher and rejected claims of editorial disputes
- Penguin confirmed willingness to publish but cited an unresolved issue during discussions with the author
Penguin Random House India out. HarperCollins in. Sonia Gandhi's memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', has found a new publisher for distributing the book in the Indian territory.
"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," the publisher posted on X on Friday noon.
Last week, Penguin Random House India said it is not the publisher of Sonia Gandhi's memoir. The statement came amid reports that the publisher backed out after Sonia Gandhi refused "editorial changes" to the manuscript. The publisher though denied any such motive behind the move.
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"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," the company said in a statement last week.
The publisher said that even though they were "willing and keen to publish the book", it is their "prerogative and responsibility to fact check authors and provide recommendations" as 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," the statement added.
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Penguin Random House India issued another statement Monday, maintaining that there was no external pressure behind its decision to not publish Sonia Gandhi's memoir, adding there was an impasse over "a particular issue" during discussions on the memoir.
The publisher didn't disclose the contentious issue, citing "agreement and author confidentiality".
The book's India release has been a matter of much speculation since Alfred A Knopf's announcement, a giant in American publishing and an imprint of Penguin Random House, that the memoir will be released on November 10.
"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 very human failings," Sonia Gandhi said in a statement issued through Knopf. "In many ways, this book is a homage to their humanness. My story also offers readers a unique perspective of the social and political changes I have witnessed for six decades in the beautiful country of my belonging."
In "Belonging," 79-year-old Sonia Gandhi writes of her life being upended when her mother-in-law is assassinated in 1984 and succeeded by Rajiv Gandhi who seven years later was also murdered.
Sonia Gandhi eventually entered politics and became the longest-serving president of the Congress while also turning down her party's offer to become prime minister. Her party lost power to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP in 2014.
"It was heartbreak and loss that threw me into the public world of politics. Up till then I had guarded my privacy fiercely," she said in her statement.
