For decades, Sonia Gandhi has maintained a relatively private personal life despite being one of India's most prominent political figures. From marrying into the Nehru-Gandhi family to witnessing the assassinations of her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, and husband, Rajiv Gandhi, much of her life has unfolded alongside some of India's most defining political events.
Now, in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey Of Love, released on 10 November 2026, Sonia Gandhi revisits several chapters of her life that she has rarely discussed publicly.
The book moves between personal memories and political history, offering glimpses into her experiences of motherhood, illness, family relationships and grief. Here are five important revelations from the memoir.
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The Heartbreak Of Losing Her First Child
One of the most personal accounts in the memoir concerns the loss of Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi's first child.
In January 1969, Sonia gave birth prematurely to a baby boy. The child died a day after birth, leaving the couple devastated.
Recalling the moment they learnt about his death, she wrote, “We held each other tight. I cried my heart out, and Rajiv, in spite of his ‘stiff upper lip’ upbringing, also wept copiously.”
The memoir also describes the difficult decision surrounding the baby's last rites. Sonia did not want her newborn son to be immersed in a river, as the family struggled to find an alternative.
Rajiv and his younger brother Sanjay eventually buried the child at Feroze Gandhi's farmhouse in Mehrauli, beneath a pink bougainvillea bush.
Sonia writes that the family would pause to place flowers at the spot whenever they visited. She also recalls struggling with grief and guilt after the loss.
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Her Cancer Battle And Fight For Privacy
Sonia Gandhi also opens up about a health battle she had kept away from public discussion.
In 2010, during the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and advised to undergo surgery.
Although she had confidence in the doctors at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, she decided to seek treatment abroad to avoid the media attention that a surgery in Delhi would attract.
Recalling her state of mind after the diagnosis, she wrote that she felt shaken and worried about what lay ahead.
She also questioned whether being a public figure meant giving up every aspect of her private life.
“True I had become a public figure, but did that mean I wasn’t to be allowed even a modicum of privacy?” she wrote.
Her health concerns did not end there. In 2011, a growth was detected in her pancreas during a routine follow-up examination. She subsequently underwent another surgery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The tumour was detected at an early stage.
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How Her Relationship With Maneka Gandhi Changed
The memoir also revisits the changing relationship between Sonia Gandhi and her younger sister-in-law, Maneka Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi's wife.
Sonia recalls initially finding Maneka's arrival refreshing. She describes her as full of energy and remembers welcoming the prospect of having a younger sister-in-law in the household.
However, their relationship gradually became strained.
Sonia writes that household staff addressed her as “Bahurani” and Maneka as “Choti Bahu”. While Sonia considered them equal daughters of the family, she believed Maneka may have interpreted the distinction differently.
Recalling their disagreements, Sonia explained that she often chose to remain silent to avoid arguments.
“When she spoke rudely, by and large I’d remain silent to keep the peace, but when I felt it had gone too far, I wouldn’t hold back and would respond curtly,” she wrote.
The book also discusses the growing tensions between Maneka and Sanjay, and the eventual breakdown of Maneka's relationship with the Gandhi household.
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Indira Gandhi's Reaction To Operation Blue Star
Sonia also offers a personal account of the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, the Indian Army's June 1984 military operation at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The operation was launched to remove armed militants, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who had taken shelter inside the complex.
In the memoir, Sonia recalls watching her mother-in-law, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, view footage showing the aftermath of the operation.
The visuals included bodies lying on the ground, damaged fortifications and weapons left behind.
Describing Indira's reaction, Sonia wrote, “I could see her face wet with tears, tears of pain and regret, I think: Sorrow at the manner in which the siege had ended, at the large number of lives lost.”
The recollection offers a glimpse into how Indira Gandhi reacted privately to the human cost of an operation that remains one of the most significant and controversial episodes in India's recent history.
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Why She Chose To Stay In India After Rajiv Gandhi's Death
Another significant chapter revisits the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on 21 May 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
Following his death, Sonia was devastated. Her sister urged her to return to Italy, but she decided to remain in India, the country where she had built her family life.
She later explained that she could not imagine leaving the country.
“India was my home, my children's home,” she said in an interview ahead of the memoir's release.
The book also revisits how Rajiv's assassination eventually drew her into politics, despite her earlier reluctance to enter public life.
She later became Congress president in 1998. After the party-led alliance won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, she declined the prime minister's post and proposed Manmohan Singh for the position.
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A Personal Account Behind A Public Life
Through these memories, Belonging: A Journey Of Love goes beyond Sonia Gandhi's political journey. It revisits the personal experiences that shaped her life, from the loss of her first child and family disagreements to serious health concerns and the death of her husband.
The memoir offers readers an opportunity to understand the private experiences behind a life that has remained closely connected to India's political history.
TL;DR | News At A Glance
What health battle does she discuss?
She reveals her breast cancer diagnosis in 2010 and a subsequent pancreatic tumour detected in 2011.
What does she say about Maneka Gandhi?
She recalls how their initially cordial relationship gradually became strained due to disagreements within the family.
What does she reveal about Indira Gandhi after Operation Blue Star?
She recalls Indira Gandhi crying while watching footage of the operation's aftermath in 1984.
Why did Sonia Gandhi stay in India after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination?
She considered India her home and the home of her children.
