Sonia Gandhi describes upcoming memoir as personal narrative rather than political book

NEW DELHI — Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has stated that her upcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, is a personal account of her life rather than a political book.

Writing in the English daily The Hindu on Sunday, Gandhi explained that she intentionally kept her private world restricted for a long time. She noted that it was only after stepping back from the daily commotion of public life that she was able to view her life’s journey with clarity.

The publication of the memoir offers a rare personal reflection from a central figure in Indian politics who has spent over five decades in the country. The book traces her transition from the periphery to the center of India’s political life, capturing the broader transformation of the nation during that period.

According to Gandhi, the central thread of her life’s story is love and the loyalty born from it. That journey began in England, where as a 19-year-old woman from a small Italian town, she met a young Indian student, Rajiv Gandhi. That relationship eventually connected her to a new country and family.

Gandhi detailed how, after arriving in India, she developed a deep relationship with her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi. She wrote that raising her children and focusing on family remained at the center of her life for years. However, that domestic life was also marked by profound tragedy. She lost both her mother-in-law and her husband to acts of violence.

Despite those immense hardships, Gandhi stated that her love for her husband and for India provided her with the strength to endure. Having adopted India as her true home, a sense of duty eventually compelled her to enter public life, even though it ran contrary to her natural inclinations.

Addressing public perceptions, Gandhi observed that much has been written about her family over the years, yet frequent accounts have often failed to genuinely capture her personality, motivations, struggles, and human vulnerabilities. Through the memoir, she sought to portray her family members precisely as she knew and loved them.

Reflecting on her five decades in the country, Gandhi described witnessing India’s evolution—initially from the margins and later from the epicenter of its political and public activities. She characterized her book as a personal narrative of that national transformation alongside her own deep connection to the country she came to call home.