HarperCollins to release Sonia Gandhi memoir India edition after Penguin talks fail

News

04/09/2026 15:52

By Arpan  Chaturvedi
NEW DELHI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - HarperCollins India said on Friday it would publish the local edition of politician Sonia Gandhi's memoir, days after discussions failed between her team and another publisher, Penguin Random House India. 
Italian-born Gandhi, 79, is the matriarch of one of India's most powerful political families, which includes three former prime ministers. Her son Rahul Gandhi is the opposition leader in parliament.
Penguin India and Sonia Gandhi's team disagreed over passages including on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 12-year rule and some other issues, two Indian newspapers have reported. 
The disagreement prompted allegations of censorship from Gandhi's Congress Party. Penguin Random House India told Reuters the manuscript underwent the "normal editorial process" and there was no external pressure.
"An understanding could not be reached on a particular issue. It was then that the author’s team informed us that they did not wish to proceed," a Penguin Random House India spokesperson said in a statement.
The publishing house declined to share details of the impasse, citing confidentiality obligations.
Some leaders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party have accused Congress of politicising a memoir and have asked "what exactly (in the book) needed fact-checking."  
Reuters calls to three BJP spokespeople and an email to the prime minister's office on the controversy received no immediate  response.
Gandhi has not publicly commented.   

 (Reporting by Arpan  Chaturvedi; Editing by Alex Richardson)
 ((Arpan.Chaturvedi@thomsonreuters.com;))