Sonia's Memoir BELONGING likely to delve into life beyond Gandhis, politics

Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has spent much of her public life being defined by labels — the Italian-born daughter-in-law of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the Congress matriarch, and the politician who famously declined the prime minister’s post in 2004. Now, as her memoir BELONGING prepares to hit the stands on November 10, party leaders and writers say the book could offer something rarely seen before: the woman behind those labels.

Calling her a “strong woman with nerves of steel”, AICC Media and Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera said the memoir would allow readers to see the person behind the political identity.

Woman behind political identity

“She stayed, never played the victim, and never let the cruelty or bitterness she experienced define her. She maintained a dignified silence. She led the Congress to two resounding victories in 2004 and 2009. She cannot be reduced to being ‘the Italian-Indian politician’ and ‘the matriarch of the Gandhi family’,” Khera posted on social media.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate, chairperson of the party’s social media and digital platforms, described the memoir as a potential “treasure trove” of stories and insights, calling it an eyewitness account of some of the most important landmarks in India’s political and social history.

For a leader known for guarding her privacy, BELONGING marks a deliberate departure from that silence. The 544-page memoir promises to move beyond the familiar political narrative and delve into the personal experiences, relationships, losses and choices that shaped Sonia Gandhi’s journey from Italy to the centre of Indian politics.

Author Kiran Manral also highlighted the significance of the memoir in bringing women’s voices into non-fiction, describing its publication as part of a larger effort to document the stories of powerful and inspiring Indian women.

From Italy to India

Published by Alfred A Knopf, BELONGING traces Sonia Gandhi’s life from her childhood in small-town Italy to her years in India as Rajiv Gandhi’s wife and Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law.

The memoir begins with her meeting Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge in 1965, when she was a 19-year-old student. She writes about adapting to an entirely new culture –learning Hindi, wearing saris and discovering Indian food - while gradually finding her place within one of the country’s most prominent political families.

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The book also offers an account of her relationship with her “formidable mother-in-law”, Indira Gandhi, India’s first woman prime minister.

According to Knopf’s description, the memoir follows Sonia as she gains confidence alongside Rajiv, before the Gandhi family is struck by a series of devastating tragedies.

The death of Rajiv’s younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash was followed by Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984. Rajiv then stepped into the role of prime minister, despite Sonia’s fears.

Seven years later, another tragedy would reshape her life when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber while campaigning.

Her political legacy

Among the most closely watched sections of the memoir will be Sonia Gandhi’s first-person account of her decision to decline the prime minister’s post after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won the 2004 Lok Sabha election.

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The decision has been debated for more than two decades, but the memoir promises to offer her own account of the motivations behind it.

It also provides an insider’s view of India’s economic and social transformation over six decades, while examining the personal experiences of the Nehru-Gandhi family against the backdrop of a rapidly changing country.

Her personal side

Rather than presenting the family only through its political legacy, Sonia has sought to focus on its vulnerabilities, relationships, joys and grief.

In a statement about the book, she said much had already been written about her family, but few accounts had managed to capture the truth of their motivations, actions and “very human failings”.

“In many ways, this book is a homage to their humanness,” she said, adding that her story offers readers a perspective on the social and political changes she witnessed over six decades in India, the country she came to regard as her home.

‘A life shaped by loss and politics’

Sonia Gandhi has said writing the memoir was not easy because it required her to revisit experiences she had kept private for years. “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.

Also read: ‘Totally unacceptable’: Sonia Gandhi slams bid to denigrate Nehru, rewrite history

After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, she resisted pressure to enter politics for several years. She eventually joined active politics and went on to become Congress president in 1998, a position she held until 2022, making her the party’s longest-serving president.

Looking back, she said the book gradually revealed to her a thread of “love and loyalty” running through her life — from her childhood in Italy to her years as Rajiv Gandhi’s wife and Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law.

BELONGING, which will also feature previously unseen photographs and personal memorabilia from Sonia Gandhi’s private collection, therefore promises to be more than a political memoir.