Sonia’s Memoir: Selective Memories, Convenient History

Sonia Gandhi’s long-awaited memoir— “Belonging: A Journey of Love”—has hit the book stalls on Tuesday and drew sharp criticism from the BJP on several counts.

In her book, Sonia Gandhi credited the economic reforms introduced during former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's tenure to an experienced economist who served as his finance minister in the early 1990s. She was apparently referring to Manmohan Singh. In her account, she attributed the introduction of the landmark economic reforms to the then Finance Minister under Narasimha Rao's leadership.

The memoir recounts her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi and her introduction to her mother-in-law, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, as well as her efforts to adjust to life in India, including learning Hindi, wearing saris and adapting to Indian food and culture.

It covers the major tragedies that transformed the Gandhi family, including the death of Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash, Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991.

The memoir delves into political events surrounding the Congress-led alliance's victory in the 2004 elections, when Sonia Gandhi declined to become prime minister and instead led the party and its alliance, which governed India for a decade.

She said, "Some months before the election, my children and I had discussed the issue of my possible prime ministership. One of them asked me straight out whether I would accept the post, just in case our party pulled off a victory. 'Absolutely not!' I'd said, almost indignantly. 'Are you sure?' they pressed me. 'I'm very clear,' I said emphatically. Neither Rahul nor Priyanka felt that I should become prime minister. They'd lived through the trauma of their grandmother's assassination and the brutal murder of their father. In their minds, holding that office was intrinsically linked with heightened danger," Sonia Gandhi wrote.

She said that after she finally decided to turn down the post of prime minister, the question was who would become the PM.

"There were several senior colleagues, seasoned and qualified for the post, who would have been more than willing to accept it but amongst all of them was one who had long been in my sight as a person above reproach, and possessed a deep and consummate understanding of governance. That was Dr Manmohan Singh, a member of the Congress Working Committee," Gandhi says in the book.

Sonia said, "He was not allied to any camp in the party. Over a period of time, the Congress had been painted as being left of centre, and our government would now be supported by the Communist parties as well. I thought Dr Manmohan Singh would assuage the doubts of many about our ability to manage and continue the policies that had been begun years ago," she says, elaborating on the reasons why Singh was chosen to lead the country. She said she felt that he was a man with unquestionable integrity and a deep understanding of governance.

"His keen intellect and hard work had taken him from a remote village school to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and on from there to international fora. Aside from all his accomplishments as a scholar and technocrat, what I knew best about Dr Singh was that he had a kind and compassionate heart, and his integrity unquestionable," she says.

"I knew that our beloved country would be safe in his hands. I held consultations with my senior colleagues, and they seemed more reconciled to my decision now. They didn't oppose Dr Manmohan Singh's name when I suggested it to them; no one could contest the depth of his experience or his reputation as an honourable man who would do right by India," she says.

However, the BJP on Tuesday hit out at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for trying to "justify" the Emergency in her memoir, "Belonging: A Journey of Love", and said the book should instead have been named "whitewashing".

The BJP national spokesperson C R Kesavan on his X post said it appears that the book appears to be "sugar-coating the historical wrongs perpetrated" by the Nehru-Gandhi family.

He said she has weighed in on the Emergency imposed in the country in 1975 and called it a mistake. Gandhi said she believes that her mother-in-law and former prime minister Indira Gandhi also came to feel the same.

The Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson also wrote that keeping her husband Rajiv Gandhi's brother Sanjay Gandhi "in check" could have prevented much of the damage that followed the imposition of the Emergency.

Kesavan said, "Sonia Gandhi appears to have sugar-coated the historical wrongs perpetrated by the Nehru Gandhi family and camouflaged the cardinal sins committed by the Congress party."

"She says she cried for Babri Masjid. Did Sonia Gandhi shed even a drop of tear when Gurudwaras were targeted and thousands of innocent people were violently killed during the 1984 Sikh Massacre which happened during the Congress rule?

"Sonia Gandhi cried profusely for the Batla House terrorists, but did she weep for the brave CRPF jawans who were martyred in the line of duty protecting our nation and people?" the BJP leader said.

"Did Sonia Gandhi cry for the innocent lives lost in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks which happened under the Congress Govt. Will her book answer why the cowardly Congress-led UPA Govt failed to retaliate?" he asked.

Kesavan said the way Gandhi has tried to "justify and normalise the notorious Emergency", which murdered the Constitution and suspended fundamental rights, is truly appalling.

"The Congress regime at the Centre for nearly 55 years inflicted unfathomable damage and scars on Indian polity and our democracy. The nation is thankful to PM Modi ji for effectively course correcting the historical sins and wrongs committed by the Congress party," he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gowri V

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A Journey of Three Decades Time passes faster than we realise. What feels like a journey that began only yesterday has today grown into more than three decades of a meaningful and fulfilling life devoted to education, journalism, and the empowerment of young minds. My professional journey began with journalism training in New Delhi in 1979. I went on to work as an independent journalist, drawing on my fluency in both English and Telugu. Over the years, I have edited and worked on Telugu articles in both languages, an experience that strengthened my command of language and sharpened my understanding of society, people, and contemporary issues. Yet, my principal profession and enduring passion have always been teaching. My decision to become a teacher was not merely a career choice—it was a calling. Teaching offered me the rare privilege of inspiring young minds, guiding them through their formative years, and making a lasting difference in their lives. I found immense satisfaction in simplifying complex concepts, nurturing curiosity, encouraging independent thought, and building confidence among students. Every moment in the classroom—every question, every moment of discovery, and every spark of understanding—reminded me why I had chosen this path: to empower young people through knowledge, values, and essential life skills. My teaching career began at the grassroots level as a Montessori teacher and gradually progressed to the position of Vice Principal. I had the opportunity to work in reputed educational institutions, including Dilsukhnagar Public School in Hyderabad, where I shouldered both teaching and administrative responsibilities. Although I have always considered myself, at heart, a teacher, my administrative experience enabled me to understand and contribute to the education system from a much broader perspective. For my students, I have always tried to be an approachable and dependable presence—someone they could turn to not only for academic support, but also for guidance and emotional encouragement. At the same time, I developed a reputation as a firm disciplinarian who believed that integrity, fairness, responsibility, and discipline were fundamental to education. I was also consistently appreciated for maintaining clear communication with parents and staff and for ensuring that examinations and other academic processes were conducted with transparency, fairness, and efficiency. As my career progressed, however, I began to feel that academic education alone was not enough. This realization led me to work more closely with students following the SSC and CBSE curricula, while consciously bringing life-skills education into my teaching. I came to understand that education becomes truly meaningful when it prepares children not merely to pass examinations, but to face life. Teaching emotional resilience, self-reliance, social awareness, communication, decision-making, and other practical life skills often had a deeper and more lasting impact than academic achievement alone. I saw how these skills could help students navigate challenges with greater confidence, maturity, and responsibility. My academic background provided a strong foundation for this approach. My degree in Psychology from the University of Madras helped me develop a deeper understanding of young people's minds, their emotional needs, and the influence of their family and social environments. My M.A. in Telugu with First Class from Osmania University.

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