India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
Sonia Gandhi has joined Instagram for the first time, choosing to introduce herself to the platform with a look at her upcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.
The Congress leader shared her first post on Thursday, giving readers a glimpse of the book ahead of its release next month.
Sonia Gandhi’s memoir “Belonging: A Journey of Love,” detailing her life transitions and India’s political evolution, releases November 10, 2026, published by Alfred A. Knopf internationally and HarperCollins India after a change from Penguin Random House India.
“Hello everyone, I’m truly grateful to share this moment with you all; the first look of Belonging: A Journey of Love,” she wrote. “It is a story of love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong. I look forward to sharing it with you.”
The 544 page memoir is scheduled to hit the shelves on November 10, 2026. Alfred A. Knopf will publish the book internationally, while HarperCollins India will bring out the Indian edition.
The book takes readers back to 1965, when a 19 year old Sonia Maino met Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge, England. The two married in 1968, and she moved from Italy to India to begin a new life with him.
Her memoir looks back at that transition, from adjusting to an unfamiliar country and culture to becoming part of the Nehru-Gandhi family. It also recounts her relationship with her mother-in-law, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, and her experiences as she made India her home.
But the story goes beyond her move to India. It also revisits the personal tragedies that changed her life, including Sanjay Gandhi’s death in a plane crash in 1980, Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991.
Sonia Gandhi has written about her family before, but this memoir promises a closer look at the person behind the public figure. In an earlier statement released by Knopf, she pointed out that while much had been written about her family, there was less focus on the reasons behind their decisions, their actions and their personal shortcomings.
“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.
The memoir also covers the changes India has experienced over six decades. Alongside her personal journey, it offers her account of the political and social developments she has witnessed during her years in the country.
Why Did Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir Change Publishers In India?
The book had already attracted attention before its release because of a change in its Indian publisher.
Penguin Random House India, which was initially expected to publish the memoir in the country, later confirmed that it would not release the book.
The Indian Express reported that the decision followed disagreements over proposed editorial changes and the removal of certain portions of the manuscript. Sonia Gandhi’s side reportedly did not agree to the proposed changes. Reports identified passages concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and contemporary political developments as some of the areas of disagreement.
Penguin Random House India disputed the claim that the book was dropped because the author refused to accept editorial changes. It said it was still willing to publish the memoir, but discussions had reached a deadlock over a particular issue. The publisher also denied that external pressure had influenced its decision.
HarperCollins India later acquired the Indian publishing rights, with the release date set for November 10, 2026. The book will arrive in India on the same day as its international edition from Alfred A. Knopf.
