'Inaccurate reports': Penguin India denies dropping Sonia Gandhi memoir

In a statement posted on its X account on Saturday, the publishing house clarified that it is not the publisher of Belonging: A Journey of Love in India and said reports linking its decision to the book’s editorial changes were inaccurate.

“Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish ‘Belonging’ because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” the publisher said.

The clarification came after a report by The Indian Express claimed that Penguin Random House India had withdrawn from publishing the memoir after Gandhi rejected proposed changes and deletions to sections of the manuscript.

'Fact-checking is standard practice'

Penguin India said fact-checking manuscripts and making editorial recommendations are routine aspects of the publishing process.

“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,” it said.

The publishing house also said that, throughout the discussions surrounding the manuscript, it remained “willing and keen to publish the book”.

The statement did not, however, provide details about the discussions or explain the precise circumstances surrounding the reported disagreement over the manuscript.

Memoir set for US release in November 2026

Belonging: A Journey of Love in India was originally announced for publication in the United States by Alfred A Knopf.

The memoir is scheduled to be released on November 10, 2026, with an initial print run of 100,000 copies.

Penguin Random House was also expected to publish the audio edition.

The book is expected to provide an account of Gandhi’s personal journey from her childhood in post-war Italy to her life in India following her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi.

It also examines her years as the daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her eventual transition into public life and politics.

Book chronicles Gandhi’s political journey

The memoir is expected to cover Gandhi’s entry into politics after years of resisting calls to take on a political role.

It also recounts her decision in 2004 to decline the post of prime minister after the Congress-led alliance secured victory in the general election.

In an earlier statement issued through Knopf, Gandhi said the memoir would offer readers her perspective on the social and political changes she had witnessed during more than six decades in India.

She described India as “the beautiful country of my belonging”.

Knopf has presented Belonging as a memoir centred on “love, family” and India, while describing Gandhi as one of the world's most prominent women leaders.

Sonia Gandhi’s most personal account

The book has attracted significant interest because Gandhi has largely avoided writing a conventional autobiography despite having previously authored and edited books.

People associated with the memoir's preparation have described it as “her most personal and definitive account of her life”.

The book is therefore expected to provide an unusually detailed account of Gandhi’s family life, relationship with India and decades in and around the country's political establishment.

Its publication has generated interest both because of Gandhi's political prominence and because of the relatively limited number of first-person accounts she has published about her own life.

India publication remains unclear

Penguin Random House India's clarification has disputed the account that it dropped the memoir because Gandhi rejected editorial recommendations.

However, the statement has not settled the question of who will ultimately publish Belonging in India.

The Indian Express report had claimed that several leading publishers were competing for the Indian rights after Penguin India’s reported withdrawal.

With the US edition scheduled for November 10, 2026, the status of the book's Indian publication remains unclear amid the conflicting accounts over its publishing arrangements.

Penguin India's statement, meanwhile, has sought to distinguish between routine editorial discussions and the suggestion that the publisher abandoned the project because Gandhi refused proposed changes.