HarperCollins takes over India publication of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir after Penguin exit

HarperCollins India will publish Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s much-anticipated memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love in India on November 10, ending weeks of uncertainty over who would bring the book to Indian readers after Penguin Random House India dropped out of the project.

HarperCollins India announced the publication on Instagram, describing the book as “One of the most anticipated political memoirs of our time” and saying it is “a dramatic and deeply personal story of love, identity, duty and belonging” that offers “a rare insider's view of India’s journey.”

Also Read: Penguin issues clarification on reports it dropped Sonia Gandhi’s memoir ‘Belonging’


The announcement comes days after Penguin Random House India (PRHI), which had been expected to publish and distribute the memoir in India, said it would not be the Indian publisher of the book.

PRHI, however, disputed that characterisation. In a statement issued in August, the publisher said: “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 Indian publication had originally been expected to coincide with the global release of the memoir on November 10. The book was first announced by Alfred A Knopf, the US imprint of Penguin Random House, which had announced an initial print run of 100,000 copies.

The global edition will continue to be published by Knopf, meaning the switch to HarperCollins applies to the Indian edition.

The book is reportedly expected to offer an unusually intimate account of Gandhi’s journey from post-war Italy to India, her marriage to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, her life within the Nehru-Gandhi family and her eventual emergence as one of the country’s most consequential political figures.

The memoir also wil span some of the defining personal and political upheavals of modern India, including the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi’s entry into active politics.