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COVER STORY NOVEMBER 20, 2026 | The Indian Eye 4

SONIA GANDHI’S MEMOIR
OLD ACCOUNT,

NEW BATTLES

Presented as a personal account of love, loss and belonging, the book has become a flashpoint over the
Emergency, the Babri Masjid demolition, the 1984 anti-Sikh violence and the legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family

OUR BUREAU ily. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Min-
ister Brajesh Pathak described it as a
New Delhi
“bundle of falsehoods” and alleged
onia Gandhi’s memoir was ex- that it sought to obscure the Con-
pected to offer a rare glimpse gress’s record during the Emergency
Sinto the private life of one of In- and the Bofors controversy.
dia’s most influential political figures. The criticism has also become per-
Instead, its release has reopened some sonal. Sarang questioned Sonia Gand-
of the country’s most contentious hi’s account of her emotional response
political arguments. Within days of to the demolition of the Babri Masjid,
publication, the book became the sub- asking why she had not expressed sim-
ject of a sharp exchange between the ilar grief over the killing of kar sevaks,
Congress and the BJP, with criticism soldiers and civilians. He also invoked
extending beyond its account of histo- the 1984 violence and Rajiv Gandhi’s
ry to questions about Sonia Gandhi’s controversial remark, “When a big
identity, political authority and the tree falls, the earth shakes”, made af-
legacy of her family. ter Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
The friction is significant because The 1984 anti-Sikh violence is
the memoir sits at the intersection of perhaps the most difficult chapter for
two competing narratives. For the the Congress to defend. Nearly 3,000
Congress, it is the story of a woman people were killed in the violence that
who came to India through marriage, followed Indira Gandhi’s assassina-
endured personal tragedies and even- tion by her Sikh bodyguards. Sonia
tually assumed leadership of a party in describes it as a “tragic and shameful
decline. For the BJP, it offers an op- chapter”, accuses officials of looking
portunity to challenge the Congress’s away or fuelling the violence, and ac-
account of its own past and revive con- knowledges failures of governance
troversies that continue to shape the and delayed justice. At the same time,
political debate. she defends Rajiv Gandhi against alle-
The controversy began even gations of complicity.
before publication. Sonia Gandhi’s That combination has invited crit-
memoir ran into a dispute with Pen- Congress leader Sonia Gandhi with her daughter Priyanka at a INDIA bloc rally (ANI) icism. The BJP argues that the mem-
guin Random House India over pro- oir does not adequately confront the
posed editorial changes. HarperCol- The most sensitive passages con- leaders. It remains one of the most responsibility of the Congress leader-
lins eventually published the Indian cern three episodes that remain deep- serious democratic failures in inde- ship. BJP MP Tarun Chugh accused
edition on November 10. Reports said ly contested: the Emergency of 1975- pendent India. By presenting Indira Congress leader Sam Pitroda of “rub-
the disagreements involved passages 77, the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 and as isolated and under pressure, Sonia bing salt into Sikhs’ wounds” after
on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the demolition of the Babri Masjid in offers an explanation of the circum- Pitroda rejected the criticism and de-
the RSS, China, communal tensions 1992. Each touches the political re- stances surrounding the decision. Crit- fended the memoir.
and the position of minorities. Sonia cord of the Congress, the conduct of ics, however, see this as an attempt to For the Congress, the issue is par-
Gandhi told The Guardian that the the Gandhi family and the ideological soften the responsibility of the person ticularly sensitive because the party
publisher had been “uneasy in general fault lines between the two principal who imposed it. has spent years trying to distance itself
with the criticism of the Government”. national parties. The BJP has seized on this dis- from the violence and the failure to
Penguin said discussions over editorial The account is politically delicate. tinction. Madhya Pradesh minister deliver timely justice. The Babri Mas-
changes were part of its normal pro- The Emergency involved the suspen- Vishvas Sarang called the memoir a jid demolition presents another diffi-
cess and that it remained willing to sion of civil liberties, press censorship “publicity stunt” intended to improve cult political equation. Sonia Gandhi
publish the book. and the imprisonment of opposition the image of the Nehru-Gandhi fam- Continued on next page... >>

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