Congress Alleges Censorship After Penguin India Withdraws from Sonia Gandhi Memoir

Penguin Random House India will not publish the memoir of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, titled Belonging: A Journey of Love, following a dispute over editorial changes. Senior Congress leaders allege that the publisher was pressured by the government to remove sections concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS, and Chinese intrusions into Indian territory. One aide noted that the contested portions include details of meetings with Modi and a 2004 comment in which he allegedly referred to her as a Jersey cow. The book is scheduled for a worldwide release on November 10 through US based publisher Alfred A Knopf, and HarperCollins is reportedly close to finalizing an agreement to distribute the book in India.

Penguin Random House India issued a statement denying that the decision to not publish was based on the author declining editorial changes. The publisher stated that fact checking and providing recommendations are normal parts of the publishing process and that they remained keen to publish the book. The company declined to comment further on confidential discussions with the author.

Congress leaders have reacted strongly to the development. Ashok Gehlot called the situation a murder of freedom of expression, while Kamal Nath questioned if the publisher acted independently. Gaurav Gogoi criticized the publisher for its willingness to publish books on the RSS and Prime Minister Modi while hesitating on this memoir. The book itself chronicles Gandhi's life from her childhood in Italy to her time in India and the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi.