Sonia Gandhi’s ‘autobiography’, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, is the centre of attention these days for a number of reasons. Going by the excerpts being released in the media, it is a gripping account of someone who married into India’s first family and, after a succession of historic tragedies, emerged as the central figure in the Congress party. Judging from what has appeared, so far, on different platforms, it can be said that its immediate discernable quality is the high readability quotient, for which due credit should be given to a likely ghostwriter or/and the editors of the publishing house.
Apart from the telling of her life – the private and the public moments – it is obviously, now, the ‘official’ version of the Congress point of view regarding events during a critical phase of Indian politics before the Modi era. As such, it will serve as the party’s ideological go-to narrative. After all the confusion that has prevailed in this regard, party cadres will now know when and why tears are to be shed, and how major mistakes of the past are to be explained. They will also be able to identify the achievements of the first family and take due credit for the same.
The accuracy of Sonia Gandhi’s version of affairs is already being questioned, but that is not the point. It is a telling of the inner workings of power in which the conflicts and compromises within a family shaped politics and impacted upon India’s fortunes. As such, it is not just a book that should be read by Congress supporters, but all those wish to understand a critical period in modern India’s history. This is particularly so for the younger generation that was not present in those times and requires some understanding of the kinds of challenges democracy has faced in the past. It will then be possible for them to understand the politics that has evolved since then.
Once readers have gone through the book, it is expected that the reality of ‘when a big tree falls, the ground shakes’ will become known. And, much more, of course! Responses from those who seem to have been targeted are already coming in and will provide a larger perspective to what basically is an individual’s version of events. All the same, it will add context and texture to an important period in history. It is possible that the book has come out to establish political credentials for Rahul Gandhi in the framework of the coming elections, particularly those of 2029, but that would only be expected. It may not bring in the votes, but it is guaranteed to be a bestseller.
