Sonia Gandhi releases candid new political memoir Belonging

Veteran Indian Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi has published a new political memoir titled Belonging. The Guardian reported that the book offers a candid insider account of her personal journey from a small Italian town to political leadership in India, as well as the nation's political evolution. [1]

According to the Guardian, the book details personal tragedies alongside major national political events, including the assassinations of her husband and mother-in-law, and press stonewalling under Narendra Modi. The Daily Star separately reported that Gandhi recalls breaking down in tears in 1992 during the demolition of the Babri Masjid. [1][2]

Gandhi was born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino on December 9, 1946, in Lusiana, Italy, before her Roman Catholic family moved to Orbassano near Turin. Her father, Stefano Eugenio Maino, was a former foot soldier in the Italian armed forces during World War II. [5]

Gandhi is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress party. She assumed leadership of the party in 1998, seven years after the assassination of her husband, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and held the post until 2017 before returning as interim president from 2019 to 2022. [3]