NEW DELHI: A controversy has erupted over the Indian publication of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir ‘Belonging’, with Penguin Random House India (PRHI) reportedly pulling out of the deal following differences with the former Congress president over certain suggested edits.Calling it a “murder of democracy”, Congress functionary Ashok Gehlot alleged that “pressure was put on Penguin India to remove the portions related to Narendra Modi, RSS and China’s occupation of Indian territory during Modi’s rule”.Penguin, for its part, issued a carefully worded statement saying: “PRHI is not the publisher of ‘Belonging’ in India. Any suggestion that PRHI decided not to publish it because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances.” The publishing house, however, defended its “prerogative and responsibility” to fact-check manuscripts and make recommendations to authors. It also said it remained “willing and keen” to publish the book. Earlier this year, PRHI stopped the distribution of cartoonist Joe Sacco’s ‘The Once and Future Riot’, on the Muzaffarnagar riots.Interestingly, the US publisher of the memoir, Alfred A Knopf, is also a division of Penguin Random House. The international launch of ‘Belonging: A Journey in Love’, featuring a photo of a young Sonia on its cover, is scheduled for Nov 10. There is a question mark over who the Indian rights of ‘Belonging’ belong to, but the buzz is that HarperCollins may bag them.
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Gehlot also questioned why PRHI wanted changes to the Indian edition if Knopf was ready to publish the book worldwide in its original form. “What is the reason or what pressure is there that what is being published across the world cannot be published in India?” he asked. “Why is this truth being hidden from the people of India? Will the Modi govt alter even the facts by pressuring publishers?” he added.Gehlot said the integrity and dignity with which Sonia had served the country were exemplary. “Suppressing the book of a person of such stature, a senior leader of the nation, and former leader of the opposition, is tantamount to the murder of freedom of expression,” he said.Deputy leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said, “No doubt there are those in the BJP govt who have now become afraid of a book being read by the people of India.”Congress, from its official social media handle to frontal organisations such as Seva Dal, lashed out at what it called the BJP’s attempt to sabotage the book of a senior national figure.
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