Sonia Gandhi makes Instagram debut, shares video with her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love
The post promotes Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, which explores themes of love, duty, loss and the search for a place to belong.
PTC News Desk: Sonia Gandhi has shared her first post on Instagram, featuring a video of her sitting in a library and reading a book. In the video, she turns pages, pauses to look at photographs and smiles. Her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is also seen beside her, and the two share a hug at one point.
The post promotes Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, which explores themes of love, duty, loss and the search for a place to belong.
Sonia Gandhi’s Instagram account follows only three accounts: her son Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the Congress party. Rahul has around 16.3 million followers, the Congress party has 15.9 million, and Priyanka has 2.9 million. Sonia Gandhi has never joined X or Facebook. Her Instagram follower count began rising within hours of her first post.
Controversy over book's publisher
The Instagram post comes after weeks of confusion surrounding the publication of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir.
On August 28, Penguin Random House India clarified that it was not publishing the book in India. The publisher also rejected claims that it had withdrawn from the project because Sonia Gandhi refused to make editorial changes.
Earlier reports had suggested that Penguin wanted certain sections of the manuscript cut or removed, but Sonia Gandhi did not agree. Senior Congress leaders also alleged that the publisher had faced pressure to remove passages referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and China’s occupation of Indian territory. These claims were not accepted by the publisher.
Sonia Gandhi sheds light on her Memoir
In a statement issued through Alfred A. Knopf, the book’s US publisher, Sonia Gandhi said that many accounts had been written about her family, but few had captured the truth behind their motivations, actions and personal shortcomings.
She described the memoir as a tribute to their human side. She also said the book offers readers a personal perspective on the social and political changes she has witnessed in India over the past six decades, a country she considers her home.
A Life shaped by personal loss and politics
In Belonging, Sonia Gandhi describes how her life changed dramatically after the assassination of her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in 1984. Her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, became Prime Minister but was assassinated seven years later, in 1991.
Sonia Gandhi eventually entered politics and went on to become the longest-serving president of the Congress party. Despite being offered the opportunity to become Prime Minister, she declined the position.
The Congress lost power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Narendra Modi, in the 2014 general election.
Reflecting on her entry into public life, Sonia Gandhi said that heartbreak and personal loss pushed her into politics. Until then, she had strongly guarded her privacy.