Penguin India Denies Being the Publisher of Sonia Gandhi's Memoir After Reports of Editorial Fallout

New Delhi: After it was reported that Penguin Random House India (PRHI) will not be publishing Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, due to the author's refusal to make certain "editorial changes and deletions" in "a part of the manuscript," the publishing house, on Friday (August 28), denied being the book's publisher. It said claims of an editorial fallout did not "accurately reflect the circumstances."

In a statement issued on X, Penguin said, "As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is normal part of the publishing process."

"Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India's position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book," it said.

PRHI refused to offer any further comment on "confidential discussions with the author."

The controversy comes against the backdrop of other cancellations made by the publishing house owing to the 'politically-sensitive' nature of the material under the present regime.

Gandhi's memoir

Alfred A. Knopf, a United States-based publishing house, first announced the release of the book scheduled for November 10 this year. It said the first print run for the memoir would comprise of 100,000 copies.

Gandhi's book is expected to be the most significant and personal account of her life till date. As reported by The Wire earlier, Knopf's blurb for the book described it as "a riveting personal and political story of love, family, and an endlessly fascinating country."

"The once famously reticent Sonia Gandhi narrates her remarkable life, from her childhood in post-war Italy, to the romance that brings her to India, to the shattering losses that will reshape not only her own future but also that of her adopted home; an insider’s keen perspective on the country’s tumultuous post-Independence history and its present political struggles," it said.

Knopf's release announcement carried a quote by Gandhi saying, "Much has been written about my family, but few narratives were able to reach into the truth of their motivations, their actions and even their human failings…My story also offers readers a unique perspective of the social and political changes I have witnessed for six decades."

Other releases

In January 2025, while talking about the hurdles faced in getting his biography of former RSS sarsanghchalak M.S. Golwalkar published, author Dhirendra K. Jha told The Wire's Seema Chishti that the book was originally going to be published by PRHI but arrangement later fell through.

"They had signed a contract on the basis of a proposal which had outlined each and everything that is there in the book. Once I submitted the manuscript, Penguin wanted me to remove all the references of We or Our Nationhood Defined as well as Nazis, etc.," he said.

He said PRHI presented him with a "legal document" based on a "fictitious version" of M.S. Golwalkar's We or Our Nationhood Defined and asked him to alter his book according to it, while completely overlooking his research stemming from the original text published by Bharat Publications in Nagpur.

Earlier this year, PRHI had denied printing former Army chief general M.M. Naravane’s memoirs titled Four Stars of Destiny, which contains the officer's account of multiple security-related developments, including the India-China clashes in Galwan and the Agnipath scheme. However, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was later seen brandishing a hardbound copy of the book in parliament.

The memoir gained public attention after an article in the Caravan magazine provided details of the political and military decision-making during the 2020 border crisis in eastern Ladakh, based on its contents. When Gandhi tried to quote a part about the political directions given to the army chief from the unreleased book, he was stopped by the house's speaker. In response, PRHI released a statement on February 10 asserting its copyright over the unpublished book.

In June 2026, the publishing house had also cancelled the publication of acclaimed graphic novelist Joe Sacco’s book on the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. In an interview with The Wire's Sidharth Bhatia, Sacco remarked that it seemed as if PRHI "didn't want to distribute the book" and was looking for excuses to drop it. Sacco revealed that it was not just one 'objectionable map' but a list of five pages that the publishers wanted altered.

He said, "They don’t want to distribute a book like this because of the current political climate in India. Perhaps they’re being leaned on. I know Penguin India is also the publisher of Prime Minister Modi’s book. So, I mean, there could be all kinds of reasons of which I don’t know. But to me, the fact that they want changes from me, which I think were unfair, I’m just not going to do that. "

The book is now set to be released in India by the Delhi-based LeftWord Books, at a much more affordable price. LeftWord, in response to the earlier reports Gandhi's book being dropped, took to X to call out PRHI.

"We finalised the cover of the Indian edition late last night, and this morning, Penguin turned chicken – again! Wendy Doniger, Sonia Gandhi and Joe Sacco. We’re in good company. The book is out in Sept, at an affordable INR price," it said.

(This report was updated at 2.17 pm to reflect new developments.)

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