A controversy has emerged over former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s upcoming book, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, following reports of differences between the author and Penguin Random House India (PRHI) over certain passages in the manuscript.
According to sources, PRHI had suggested changes to some portions of the book, including removing certain content. Sonia Gandhi reportedly declined to make the suggested changes. However, Penguin Random House India has now issued an official statement disputing reports that it withdrew from publishing the book in India because the author refused editorial changes.
According to sources, the passages at the centre of the reported disagreement relate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure, the RSS and alleged Chinese encroachment on the Indian border.
Sources claimed that Penguin Worldwide had no objection to the content, while Penguin India had raised concerns over some of the passages. Sonia Gandhi reportedly refused to remove the content related to the three issues.
No consensus was reached on the suggested changes to the manuscript, according to reports.
The book's publication process is continuing abroad. ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’ is scheduled to be published in the US by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House. According to sources, the book is scheduled for release on November 10.
Penguin Random House India has clarified that it is not the publisher of ‘Belonging’ in India.
In its official statement, the publisher said, "In response to the news reports about Sonia Gandhi's book 'Belonging', Penguin Random House India is not the publisher of 'Belonging' in India. Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish 'Belonging' because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances."
The company said fact-checking and making recommendations to authors are part of the normal publishing process.
"As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is a normal part of the publishing process. Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India's position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book," it said.
Penguin Random House India added that it would not comment further on its confidential discussions with the author.
"We will not comment further on confidential discussions with the author," the company said.
