After weeks of uncertainty over the publication of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, HarperCollins India has acquired the book and said it will be published in India on 10 November this year.Ms Gandhi is one of the best-known figures in politics in India, as the widow of assassinated prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and then the longest-serving president of India’s grand old party, the Indian National Congress. She is also the mother of the current leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Her memoir is one of the country’s most hotly-anticipated political books in years, but became mired in controversy after a breakdown in the relationship between Ms Gandhi and its original publisher, Penguin Random House India.It was reported by the Indian Express that Ms Gandhi’s representatives objected to “editorial changes and deletions” demanded by the publisher regarding sensitive political topics, including passages about current prime minister Narendra Modi. Penguin Random House India has denied facing any external pressure over the edits.That put the book’s scheduled November release in India in doubt, until Friday’s announcement by HarperCollins. In a statement, the publisher said: “HarperCollins India will publish Belonging: A Journey of Love by Sonia Gandhi. The long-awaited memoir will be published in India on 10 November 2026.”The statement said: “One of the most anticipated political memoirs of our time, Belonging is a dramatic and deeply personal story of love, identity, duty and belonging, and offers a rare insider’s view of India’s journey.”The memoir covers Gandhi’s early life in northern Italy, her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi, and the assassinations of both her husband and his mother, his predecessor as prime minister Indira Gandhi. It also discusses her initially reluctant entry into politics, as well as interactions with other senior figures like Mr Modi going up to the present day.HarperCollins India says about the memoir: “In this book, the once famously reticent Sonia Gandhi opens up with warmth and candour to tell the story of her remarkable life, from her childhood in post-war Veneto; to the romance that brings her to India; to the shattering losses that will reshape not only her own future but also that of her adopted home. We witness Sonia’s introduction to her formidable mother-in-law, Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi, India’s first female Prime Minister. We see Sonia gain confidence by Rajiv’s side, as she adjusts to the sounds and sights of her new home – learning to speak Hindi, to wear saris, to relish spicy cuisine.” Earlier, in a statement, Penguin Random House India had indicated that it was still “willing and keen to publish” Belonging, while it disputed the characterisation in the Indian media of how the deal with Ms Gandhi broke down.“Penguin Random House India is not the publisher of Belonging in India,” the statement read. “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.”The publisher told The Independent there had been “no external pressure whatsoever” regarding the edits under discussion.