Politics Abound As Penguin India Opts Out Of Publishing Sonia’s Memoir

Did Sonia Gandhi refuse to accept editorial changes proposed by Penguin Random House India for publishing her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love? Sonia apparently did not agree to suggestions to tone down her criticism of PM Narendra Modi and the BJP. Both Sonia and Penguin decided to drop the project. On August 28, the company released a statement on Instagram that 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.” Penguin also said that, as publisher, it is their prerogative and responsibility to fact-check and provide authors with recommendations in the best interests of their books, calling it “a normal part” of the publishing process. Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi lashed out at Penguin, calling its response a “weak statement,” adding that “Penguin India is more than happy to publish Exam Warriors and several books on RSS.” Exam Warriors is a book by Modi, published in 2018. “No doubt there are those in the BJP government who have now become afraid of a book being read by the people of India,” he added. With Penguin India pulling out, several publishers are said to be interested in the book. HarperCollins is reportedly close to finalising an agreement to publish and distribute the memoir in India, Hindustan Times reported. The memoir is scheduled for an international release on November 10 through Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Knopf earlier announced an initial print run of 1 lakh copies. The memoir is expected to narrate Sonia’s journey from her childhood in post-war Italy to her move to India and marriage to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Earlier this year, Penguin had issued a statement that it had “not printed” former Army Chief General M M Naravane’s memoirs titled Four Stars of Destiny but a hard copy of the title was flashed by Rahul Gandhi in Parliament.