Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has made her Instagram debut at the age of 79, sharing the first look at her upcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love. Her first post, published on October 22, features a video of her receiving the book, turning its pages and looking through family photographs alongside her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Introducing the memoir, Sonia Gandhi described it as a story of love, duty, loss and finding a place to belong. The book is scheduled for release on November 10, 2026, and is expected to offer readers a glimpse into her personal life, family relationships and decades in Indian politics.
The 544-page memoir traces her journey from her childhood in Italy to meeting former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge, England, in 1965, and eventually settling in India after their marriage in 1968. It also reflects on the major personal tragedies that shaped her life, including the assassinations of her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, in 1984 and her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1991, which influenced her eventual entry into politics.
The book has also attracted attention following a publishing dispute involving Penguin Random House India, which decided not to publish the Indian edition amid reports of disagreements over proposed editorial changes. HarperCollins India later took up the Indian publishing rights. The memoir is expected to provide a more personal account of Sonia Gandhi’s experiences, offering readers a perspective on her life beyond her public image as one of the Congress party’s most prominent leaders.
