NEW DELHI — Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has stated that her upcoming memoir, titled Belonging: A Journey of Love, is a deeply personal account of her life, family, and relationship with India, rather than a political record.
Scheduled for nationwide release by HarperCollins India on November 10, 2026, the memoir resolves previous domestic publishing uncertainty following an initial impasse with alternative publishing houses.
Focus on Personal Life, Tragedies, and Public Transition
Writing ahead of the book’s official launch, the former Congress president outlined the core themes explored across the narrative:
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Personal Narrative: Gandhi emphasized that the book focuses on private relationships, tracing her journey from her youth in Italy and her meeting with Rajiv Gandhi in England to her integration into the Gandhi family and her decades in India.
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Family Struggles and Loss: The memoir details major personal and national tragedies that shaped her life, including the death of Sanjay Gandhi in a 1980 plane crash, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, and the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
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Transition into Public Life: Describing how personal grief eventually drew her into politics, Gandhi noted that her decision to enter public leadership stemmed from a sense of duty toward the nation despite her personal preference for privacy.
Historical Scope and Domestic Publication
The memoir spans more than five decades of observations from both the margins and the center of Indian political life:
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Political Benchmarks: The account covers key political developments, including the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) victory in the 2004 general elections and her decision to decline the prime ministership while continuing to lead the governing coalition.
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Domestic Release: The publication by HarperCollins India brings the memoir to domestic bookstores on November 10, providing an authorized firsthand account of one of India’s most influential public figures.
