New Delhi: Several Congress leaders on Friday accused Penguin Random House India (PRHI) of compromising freedom of expression over Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, with some alleging that the publishing house may have faced government pressure.
Their remarks followed PRHI’s clarification that it is not the Indian publisher of the memoir. The company also denied reports that it had abandoned the project because Gandhi refused to accept proposed editorial changes.
Dispute Over Political Passages
A senior Congress functionary said the disagreement centred on PRHI’s demand to remove passages containing Gandhi’s “frank” assessment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and her references to the alleged mishandling of Chinese incursions during his tenure.
The functionary said the passages were based on Gandhi’s “relevant interactions” and assessment of political developments, rather than hearsay. The remarks, the leader said, reflected what she had observed during her interactions with Modi both “as the leader of a political party and a person in public life”.
The Congress leader said the dispute was not related to routine fact-checking, but to proposed “substantive changes to the political content of the memoir”, as reported by The New India Express. Removing or substantially altering the passages, the functionary claimed, would change the “character” of Gandhi’s account and her “assessment” of contemporary events.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot questioned why the edition being released internationally could not be published in India.
“What is this reason or pressure that prevents them from printing in India what is being printed worldwide?” Gehlot said in a post on X.
He alleged that PRHI had been pressured to remove references to Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and China’s alleged occupation of Indian territory.
“Pressuring and stopping the book of such a personality-rich, senior politician of the country and former Leader of the Opposition, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is akin to murdering the freedom of expression,” Gehlot said.
“This is the murder of democracy. Why is this truth being hidden from the people of India? Will the Modi government also force publishers to alter facts under pressure?” he asked.
Congress Leaders Attack PRHI
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath called the reported decision a matter of “grave concern”.
“Will the publisher decide what a senior figure like Mrs Gandhi will write and what she will not? The question also arises whether the publisher is saying this on its own or if there is pressure from someone on it?” Nath said.
Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi termed Penguin India’s statement “weak”.
“Penguin India is more than happy to publish ‘Exam Warriors’ and several books on RSS. No doubt there are those in the BJP government who have now become afraid of a book being read by the people of India,” Gogoi said.
Other Congress leaders also criticised the publisher. Srinivas BV said its explanation on “editorial independence” was unconvincing, while the Indian Youth Congress posted: “Nobody asked whether you were ‘keen’. Tell us what changes you wanted, and why. The rest is corporate grammar.”
Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba accused Penguin and PRHI of resorting to “blackmailing tactics” and praised Gandhi for refusing to “bow down”.
PRHI Denies Reports
Penguin Random House India had earlier issued a clarification stating that it is not the Indian publisher of Belonging and rejecting reports about why it allegedly chose not to publish the memoir.
In a statement, the publisher said: “Penguin Random House India is not the publisher of Belonging in India. Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish Belonging because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances.”
It added: “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 a normal part of the publishing process.”
The company said it remained “willing and keen to publish the book” but would not comment on “confidential discussions with the author”.
Another Book Row For PRHI
Penguin Random House India has recently been involved in similar publishing disputes. In June, it discontinued plans to distribute journalist and graphic novelist Joe Sacco’s book on the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, saying the decision followed an assessment of “local legal, regulatory, commercial, and market considerations”.
Media reports, however, attributed the move to “an inaccurate map” in the book and quoted the originating publisher as saying that “no changes are forthcoming”.
The publishing house also drew attention in February after stating that it had “not printed” former Army chief General M M Naravane’s memoir, Four Stars of Destiny. The statement came shortly after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi displayed a physical copy of the book in Parliament.
The Indian edition of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir has yet to find a confirmed publisher. An e-book version, nevertheless, appeared on Amazon for pre-order at Rs 2,615, with the listing naming William Collins — an imprint of HarperCollins UK — as its publisher.
The book’s global launch is scheduled for November 10 through Alfred A Knopf, a Penguin Random House imprint. Knopf has announced an opening print run of one lakh copies.