Sonia joins Instagram, shares first look of her upcoming memoir

Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi joined Instagram on Wednesday, sharing the first look of her forthcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.

The 79-year-old Congress leader’s debut on the platform marks her entry into a social media space widely used by young people, particularly Gen Z. Instagram has increasingly become a communication channel for Indian politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

In her first post, Sonia Gandhi, who served as Congress president for nearly two decades across two terms, described the memoir as a story of “love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong” and said she looked forward to sharing it with readers. “Hello everyone, I’m truly grateful to share this moment with you all; the first look of Belonging: A Journey of Love. It is a story of love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong. I look forward to sharing it with you,” she said in the post.

Sonia Gandhi’s entry comes ahead of the memoir’s worldwide release on November 10 by Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

The memoir traces her journey from childhood in post-war Italy to her life in India, including her romance with Rajiv Gandhi during their time at Cambridge and the assassinations of her mother-in-law, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, and her husband.

The book drew attention over a reported disagreement between Sonia Gandhi and Penguin Random House India (PRHI) concerning its contents.

HT had earlier reported that the proposed publishing arrangement with PRHI fell through after Sonia Gandhi refused to alter or remove references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Chinese intrusions.

A person familiar with the matter said Sonia Gandhi maintained that the memoir was her story and that she would not allow distortions to her account of her life.

PRHI issued a statement following media reports that it had withdrawn from publishing the memoir in India. Later, HarperCollins finalised an agreement to publish and distribute the Indian edition.

Her son, Rahul Gandhi, recently expressed pride in her decision to share her story. On the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said he was happy that millions of people would be able to read his mother’s account.

“I know how hard it was for someone as private as you to tell the world your beautiful story,” he said, adding that he imagined his father looking down proudly at Sonia.