The autobiography of Sonia Gandhi, the matriarch of India’s opposition Congress party, has become the subject of a controversy after its prospective publisher allegedly sought changes to passages about prime minister Narendra Modi. Belonging: A Journey of Love was first announced by Penguin Random House imprint Alfred A Knopf in August and slated for release on 10 November. The memoir traces Gandhi’s life from post-war Italy to her marriage to former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, the assassinations of her husband and his mother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, and her eventual entry into politics.
Penguin Random House India (PRHI) was expected to publish and distribute the book in the country but dropped it after negotiations with Gandhi’s representatives broke down. The breakdown was attributed to the publisher’s demands for “editorial changes and deletions” that Gandhi’s side rejected, according to the Indian Express. The publisher’s lawyers reportedly raised objections to several passages and sent lists of proposed changes to Gandhi’s representatives during negotiations that lasted at least two months.
The discussions were initially “cordial” but became increasingly “rough” towards the end, unnamed sources told the newspaper. The objections reportedly covered references to Modi and his 12 years as prime minister; the RSS, the parent organisation of almost all major Hindu nationalist groups in the country, including Modi’s ruling BJP; communal violence and the treatment of religious minorities; and India-China tensions, including the 2020 clashes along the Himalayan border that left several soldiers dead. The book, an aide of Gandhi told the Hindustan Times, recounts her meetings with Modi as well as her reactions to his insulting remarks, like calling her a “Jersey cow” at a public rally in 2004, implying that she was a foreigner and not Indian.
She has certainly given her impressions of the prime minister and details of what happened when they met,” the aide told the paper. Modi was a member of the RSS before entering full-time politics with its affiliate BJP. Gandhi’s representatives pushed back saying that PRHI’s lawyers were being “over-sensitive” and the proposed deletions could result in separate Indian and international editions.
A person involved in the process said that Indian readers would effectively be required to compare the two versions to establish “what all had been changed or censored”, the Indian Express reported. PRHI disputed the characterisation of what happened and claimed in a statement on Friday that it remained “willing and keen to publish” Belonging. This is a normal part of the publishing process.” On Monday, PRHI spokesperson Pallavi Narayan told The Independent the autobiography had been a “hard-won acquisition”.
On some, they agreed to changes and on others, we accepted the author’s position,” she said. It was then that the author’s team informed us that they did not wish to proceed and we respected their decision.” While PRHI said they would “not divulge details of what led to the impasse”, they rejected any suggestion that political considerations influenced the decision. There was “no external pressure whatsoever”, the publisher said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
