A demolition that brought tears to her eyes, an Italian passport she found difficult to surrender, a Prime Minister whose India she says is shaped by the RSS, and a political movement she alleges was backed by the BJP to dislodge the UPA government. Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', has opened several chapters of India's political history, triggering a fresh war of words between the BJP and Congress, with Opposition leaders also weighing in on the contentious recollections.
From the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the 2002 Gujarat riots to the 1984 Operation Blue Star, the Emergency, the 2004 Prime Ministerial episode and the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement, Gandhi's memoir has brought several politically sensitive episodes back into the spotlight.
While the BJP has accused the former Congress president of attempting to "whitewash" the Nehru-Gandhi family's historical record and selectively expressing grief, Congress leaders have defended her right to recount her personal experiences, accusing the ruling party of deliberately politicising the memoir.
The sharpest exchange has centred on Gandhi's recollection of watching the Babri Masjid being demolished on December 6, 1992, and breaking down in tears.
In her memoir, Gandhi revisits the demolition as a defining moment in India's political journey, describing it as an indication of the growing influence of the BJP-RSS and their affiliates.
"There had been for several years clear indications that the BJP-RSS and their affiliates were single-mindedly advancing their divisive agenda. The tragic demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the ensuing spiral of communal violence were definite pointers: Those outfits were no longer going to work behind the scenes. The BJP was drawing closer to its dream of absolute power," she wrote.
Her account has drawn a sharp response from BJP leaders, who have questioned why she expressed grief over the demolition but, according to them, did not show similar sensitivity towards Hindu victims, security personnel and victims of terrorist attacks.
BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan launched one of the strongest attacks, suggesting that the memoir should have been titled 'Whitewashing' instead of 'Belonging'.
"Sonia Gandhi could have titled her memoir 'Whitewashing', instead of 'Belonging', because the motive of this book appears to be sugarcoating the historical wrongs perpetrated by the Nehru-Gandhi family and camouflaging the cardinal sins committed by the Congress party," he said.
Questioning her recollections of the Babri Masjid demolition, the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre, the Batla House encounter and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Kesavan asked, "Sonia Gandhi says she cried for Babri Masjid. Did she shed even a drop of tears when Gurdwaras were attacked and thousands of innocents were brutally targeted and killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre, which happened under Congress rule?"
"Sonia Gandhi wept profusely for the Batla House terrorists. Did she cry when our brave jawans, in the line of duty, were martyred protecting our nation and people? Did Sonia Gandhi shed even a drop of tears when innocent lives were killed during the merciless 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai?" he asked.
He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with "resolutely course-correcting the historical wrongs and the sins committed by the Congress Party".
Union Minister Giriraj Singh went further, alleging that Gandhi's account exposed her "true face" and accusing her of selectively expressing concern over incidents involving different communities.
"Tears only well up in their eyes when incidents like the Babri (Masjid demolition) or the Batla House (encounter) occur--but when an incident like Godhra happens, her tears dry up," Singh said.
Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack, he asked why she did not express similar grief when Hindu pilgrims were targeted and killed by Pakistani terrorists.
He also questioned Gandhi's criticism of PM Modi and the RSS, bringing former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru into the debate.
"Perhaps Sonia ji should have written about Pandit Nehru's 'achievements' like how he handed Tibet over to China, how he facilitated China's entry as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, or how he introduced Articles 370 and 35A," Singh said.
"The Prime Minister looks the country's enemies straight in the eye when he speaks to them. It does not matter how powerful they might be--whether it is China, Pakistan, or any other nation in the world."
On Gandhi's account of retaining her Italian passport, Singh alleged that she had remained without Indian citizenship for 12 years and questioned her explanation for holding on to the passport.
"'It belonged to me.' 'The citizenship also belonged to me.' She is only exposing herself. Who is she trying to fool?" he said.
He further alleged that Gandhi had "no love for India" and accused her of pursuing a political strategy centred on dividing Hindus along caste lines and securing Muslim votes.
The BJP's criticism of Gandhi's Babri Masjid recollections prompted Congress leaders to invoke the reactions of senior BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani following the demolition.
One of the most politically significant sections of the memoir is Gandhi's direct assessment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ideological differences between Congress and the BJP.
Gandhi described their political rivalry as a contest between two fundamentally different visions of India rather than a personal feud.
"We come from different ideological worlds; his idea of this country is vastly different from mine. All I learnt about India was assimilated from the members of my family, their lives of service, and their faith in a nation that encompassed a host of races and cultures, languages and faiths, based on principles of liberty and equality for all," she wrote.
She alleged that the Prime Minister's understanding of India was shaped by the RSS.
"Narendra Modi's idea of India was constructed by the ideologues of the RSS and the experience of his own growing up. It affirmed a fundamentalism in which his faith and culture superseded all others. In that India, hierarchy, order, and control are central," she wrote.
"He was fighting for his vision of India, and I for mine: an India against hegemony, an India that stands for inclusiveness, secularism, and social justice," she added.
Gandhi also described her interactions with PM Modi, saying that despite his having been Prime Minister for more than 12 years, she had practically no real contact with him.
She recalled that their interactions at the end of Parliament sessions were limited to formal greetings.
"When he comes face-to-face with me, we greet each other with a formal namaste. This is different from the past, when leaders across party divides would treat one another with cordiality," she wrote.
The Congress veteran also accused the BJP of systematically dismantling democratic institutions, suppressing dissent and using central investigative agencies against political opponents.
"The BJP has systematically dismantled our democratic institutions. They're unwilling to acknowledge that the opposition has a vital role to play in a democracy," she wrote.
She alleged that the Enforcement Directorate had been turned into "a tool for political vendetta and persecution of opponents", while accusing the Election Commission of India of becoming an accomplice in the ruling party's pursuit of power.
Gandhi also criticised the mainstream media, alleging that television anchors and private channels had become "no better than propaganda arms of the government".
She accused the RSS of bringing educational institutions under its ideological influence through textbook changes and appointments of university vice-chancellors.
"The BJP's stated aim is what they call a 'Congress-free India'--free of the party, its policies, and its ideology," she wrote.
She further alleged that attacks on minorities and Dalits had increased since the BJP came to power and were mostly going unpunished.
Gandhi also criticised the November 2016 demonetisation exercise, describing it as a "telling example" of the Prime Minister's "autocratic methods".
She alleged that the sudden invalidation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes had thrown trade into disarray and driven millions into hardship.
On the other hand, BJP leaders defended PM Modi and accused Gandhi of selectively presenting India's political history.
Gandhi also revisited the 2002 Gujarat riots, which took place when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state.
Recalling the Godhra train tragedy and the violence that followed, she wrote that the Sabarmati Express was returning from Ayodhya carrying Hindu kar sevaks when four coaches were set on fire, killing 59 pilgrims.
"The cause of the fire remains disputed, but the turmoil that followed spread to many parts of the state, and the victims were overwhelmingly Muslims," she wrote.
She recalled watching television coverage of the violence and attempting to reach Congress colleagues in Gujarat.
"We watched the live reports in horror, and tried to get help to our colleagues in Gujarat who were calling us in desperation, but the administration failed to respond," she wrote.
Gandhi alleged that the riots were fuelled by a fanatical fringe of the BJP and RSS, including the Bajrang Dal, and noted that Modi was the Chief Minister at the time.
She also alleged that the RSS was laying the groundwork for Modi's emergence as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate while he was serving as Gujarat Chief Minister.
Her remarks on the RSS also extend to the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement, which she alleged had covert BJP-RSS backing.
Gandhi has alleged that the India Against Corruption movement, spearheaded by Anna Hazare, was covertly organised and supported by the BJP and RSS to weaken the UPA government.
"In 2012 a well-known activist from Maharashtra, Baburao 'Anna' Hazare, emerged as the figurehead of a movement that titled itself 'India Against Corruption'. Some of its prominent participants have stated since that it was covertly organised and supported by the BJP and RSS," she wrote.
Recalling the movement's impact on the Congress-led government, she said the large crowds and aggressive campaign had put the UPA on the backfoot.
"The movement drew large crowds, and we found ourselves on the backfoot, unable to counter the BJP's aggressive campaign," she wrote.
However, the major Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption agitation took place in 2011, with protests and related developments continuing into 2012.
Gandhi also claimed that the Lokpal mechanism, which the UPA government brought in, had become a "toothless and near-invisible tiger" under the BJP.
She further recalled former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's response to criticism during the UPA-II years, quoting his remark that "history will be kinder to me than the media".
Furthermore, Sonia Gandhi has also accused the Narendra Modi government of repackaging UPA-era welfare programmes, alleging that the NDA has adopted “no less than thirty” schemes introduced during the Congress-led government, while renaming them and reducing their scale.
“It has failed to come forward with any new ideas of governance and instead has adopted no less than thirty of our UPA-era programmes, but retitled under catchier names and considerably reduced in scale; some of these welfare schemes the prime minister himself had earlier criticised,” she wrote.
Another contentious section concerns Operation Blue Star and the aftermath of the Army operation at the Golden Temple in June 1984.
Gandhi recalled watching Indira Gandhi view footage of the operation's aftermath and described her mother-in-law's emotional response.
"As my mother-in-law watched the slow-moving record, I could see her face wet with tears--tears of pain and regret, I think: sorrow at the manner in which the siege has ended, at the large number of lives lost," she wrote.
The account drew criticism from BJP leaders and the Aam Aadmi Party.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned the significance of Gandhi's recollection, saying that any expression of remorse from Indira Gandhi herself at the time would have carried greater weight.
"Sonia Gandhi is now attempting, in her own way, to help people move past these wounds. However, had Indira Gandhi herself expressed such remorse at the time, it would have carried far greater significance," Bharadwaj told ANI.
"This sentiment, coming from Sonia Gandhi, is merely hearsay--it cannot be independently verified. It should be viewed as a political statement tailored to the current political climate," he added.
Bharadwaj also questioned Congress party's secular credentials, referring to the Army's deployment inside the Golden Temple and the subsequent anti-Sikh violence.
BJP MP Satnam Singh Sandhu questioned who would take responsibility for the destruction at the Golden Temple.
"If there were remorse, like Sonia Gandhi has said that before Indira Gandhi passed, she had the realisation, the feeling that her death was imminent... Was that remorse for the injustice that happened to the Sikhs? Was it for the attack on the Golden Temple, or was it about her own political decision?" he asked.
BJP MP HS Phoolka also questioned the account of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying that he had purchased the memoir to verify its references to the Army's deployment.
"If this is written in the book, it is against the records. It is absolutely false," he said, referring to reports that the Army was called in on October 31.
Phoolka cited the Misra Commission's findings, claiming that the Army was called in only on the evening of November 1 and reached Delhi the following evening.
Gandhi's account of declining the Prime Minister's post after the Congress-led alliance won the 2004 general elections has also reignited debate over the political developments surrounding the formation of the UPA government.
In an excerpt shared on X, Gandhi recalled the moment she decided against taking the top post.
"'Sonia, be true to yourself,' I could hear myself say. 'You've always known it. Just leave it!'" she wrote.
She also recalled informing her son Rahul Gandhi about her decision.
"'I've made up my mind. I'm going to stick to my stand,' I told him. He stepped up to me and with his arms around me said, 'It's the right decision,'" she wrote.
Gandhi also recalled a conversation with former President Pranab Mukherjee in 2010, when he allegedly suggested that it was time for a change at the top.
"He (Pranab) had developed serious differences with the Finance Minister P Chidambaram, and on one occasion, in 2010, I think after expressing his frustration, he shocked me with the suggestion that perhaps it was time for a change at the top, which I understood as a hint of his long-held desire to become prime minister," she wrote.
Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee strongly defended her father's ambition, saying there was nothing wrong with a politician aspiring to become Prime Minister.
"What's there to get 'shocked' about? Is it a crime to be ambitious, especially when that 'ambition' was supported by decades of experience in politics and governance, hard work and a brilliant mind?" she asked.
She recalled her father telling her that "any politician worth his salt has this ambition".
"My father came from a very humble background. Whatever he achieved in his life was through sheer merit and hard work. There was no one to serve him positions, including PM-ship, on a platter due to dynastic entitlements," she said.
Sharmistha also clarified that her father did not harbour resentment towards Sonia Gandhi over the issue.
Gandhi's memoir also revisits the Shah Bano controversy, one of the most politically consequential episodes of the Rajiv Gandhi government's tenure.
She recalled questioning Rajiv Gandhi over his government's decision to bring legislation in 1986 following the Supreme Court's verdict granting maintenance to Shah Bano, a divorced Muslim woman.
"I argued with him and questioned him: 'The papers are accusing you of sacrificing Muslim women's interests. What's going on? Why are you letting this happen?'" she wrote.
According to Gandhi, Rajiv defended his position, saying he was attempting to address a complicated issue.
"'Wouldn't I defend women's rights--don't you know me?' he said in a slightly irritated tone," she recalled.
Gandhi said the compromise sought to balance religious beliefs with gender justice.
However, she acknowledged that the legislation overturning the Supreme Court's decision was widely criticised.
"The legal amendment that overturned the court's decision was a political step that was widely criticised," she wrote.
She also linked the Shah Bano controversy to the BJP's electoral strategy, arguing that the party sought an emotive issue after its poor electoral performance in the 1980s.
"When in 1984, against Congress Party's tally of 404 seats, the BJP won just two seats out of the 514 in Parliament, it had come as a big blow to them," she wrote.
On Gandhi's account of Pranab Mukherjee's Prime Ministerial ambitions, Ghosh said the former President had the stature and experience required for the top post, while maintaining that the decision rested with the Congress leadership.
Sonia Gandhi has remembered late Congress veteran Ahmed Patel as one of her most trusted colleagues and a key political troubleshooter, describing him as a loyal party colleague who was “approachable day and night”.
Recounting his role in Congress organisation, Gandhi writes that Patel, popularly known as “AP”, was always ready to listen patiently to disgruntled colleagues and played an important role in resolving internal differences. She says she consulted him, along with Ambika Soni and Scindia, on party-related matters before appointing him as her political secretary.
Sonia Gandhi writes that Patel was “deeply religious but secular to the core in his politics”. She says he maintained a low profile while coordinating between Congress and its allies, but gradually came to wield considerable influence across the political spectrum.
“He came to wield considerable influence across the political spectrum but could be unforgiving towards those who crossed him,” she writes.
Beyond the political exchanges, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love' chronicles Gandhi's childhood in post-war Italy, her relationship with Rajiv Gandhi at Cambridge, her entry into the Nehru-Gandhi family and the personal tragedies that shaped her life, including the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
The memoir also revisits her decision to enter active politics in the late 1990s, when the Congress was facing internal divisions and electoral setbacks.
Gandhi recalled how she turned to the Bhagavad Gita during a period of uncertainty, drawing strength from Krishna's advice to Arjuna to perform one's duty without worrying about the fruits of one's actions.
"Something awoke in me: I was sure. I had the answer to my own doubts and questions. I had to step out and go where my duty called. And I did," she wrote.
The book, published by HarperCollins India, was released across bookstores nationwide on Tuesday. At Bahrisons Booksellers in Delhi's Khan Market, owner Rajni Bahri Malhotra described it as "one of the biggest books of this decade", saying readers had been enquiring about it for months.
But even as readers begin turning its pages, the memoir has already opened a political chapter of its own, with the BJP and Congress locked in a battle over history, identity, secularism and the legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by The Daily Jagran staff and has been published through syndicated feed by ANI.)