Why Sonia Gandhi’s memoir came out in India from HarperCollins, not Penguin

Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, went on sale in India on 10 November from HarperCollins India. It had been expected to come from another publisher, Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

PRHI announced on 28 August that it was not the book’s publisher in India, The Hindu reported. The company denied that it had faced pressure from outside. It said its decision came from “a particular issue”, but would not say what that was, citing its agreement and the confidentiality it owes the author.

The role of legal review

Big publishers usually have lawyers read a book before it goes to print, especially a memoir that names living people. They look for passages that could lead to cases of defamation or contempt of court, and they can ask for changes. The Hindu reported that the dispute over Belonging has raised questions about who has the final word when a lawyer and an author disagree.

Neither Ms. Gandhi nor PRHI has said publicly what the disagreement was about.

Out at last

The book has sold briskly since its release, with readers buying copies in bookshops, The Hindu reported. Parts of it have already drawn criticism from the BJP and from Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of the late President Pranab Mukherjee, over its account of the Emergency, the 1984 riots and her father.