A disagreement over proposed changes has ended Penguin Random House India’s plans to publish Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, with HarperCollins reportedly close to securing the Indian rights.
BY PC Bureau
Penguin Random House India will not publish Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love after the former Congress president rejected changes the publisher wanted to make to the manuscript.
According to The Indian Express, PRHI had sought certain “editorial changes and deletions” in part of the manuscript. Gandhi did not agree to the proposed changes, following which the publisher decided not to go ahead with the Indian edition.
With PRHI out of the project, several Indian publishers are now competing for the rights. HarperCollins is reportedly close to finalising an agreement to publish and distribute the memoir in India.
The book is scheduled for release on November 10. Its publication was first announced by Alfred A. Knopf, the US-based Penguin Random House imprint, which has planned an initial print run of 100,000 copies.
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Knopf has described the memoir as a story of love, family and India, seen through the life of “one of the world’s most prominent women leaders”.
Gandhi has previously written and edited books, but people familiar with the memoir have described it as her most personal and definitive account of her life.
In the publisher’s material, Gandhi says much has already been written about her family, but few accounts have explored the motivations, actions and human failings of its members. She says her memoir will also offer readers her perspective on the social and political changes she has witnessed in India over six decades.
The disagreement with PRHI reportedly centred on the changes and deletions the publisher wanted in a section of the manuscript. Gandhi rejected the proposals, leading the publisher to withdraw from the Indian edition.
The Indian Express approached Knopf and Gandhi’s literary agent, David Godwin, for comments, but both were unavailable. PRHI CEO Gaurav Shrinagesh was also asked about the requested changes and deletions but was unavailable for comment.
The development comes after PRHI faced controversy over other high-profile manuscripts.
Earlier this year, the publisher said it had “not printed” former Army chief General M.M. Naravane’s memoir Four Stars of Destiny, despite Congress leader Rahul Gandhi displaying a hard copy of the book in Parliament. Excerpts from the memoir, including those dealing with the India-China clashes in Galwan and the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, had already appeared in the media.
In June, The Indian Express reported that PRHI had also dropped plans to publish graphic novelist Joe Sacco’s The Once and Future Riot, which deals with the Muzaffarnagar riots.
At the time, Shrinagesh said the publisher had raised “content issues” during its legal review of the manuscript. These included concerns over a map that showed inaccurate boundaries of India.
Sonia Gandhi’s memoir is still scheduled for global release by Knopf on November 10. The Indian edition will now be published by another house, with several publishers reportedly interested in acquiring the rights.
