NEW DELHI – The Indian publisher of the upcoming memoir by Sonia Gandhi has announced that it has given up publishing what was expected to be one of the most anticipated volumes of the year in the vast and lively publishing market of the Subcontinent. The decision by Penguin Random House India was confirmed on Friday in a statement that does not explain, except in a general way, the reasons for the choice.
Read more Asbestos in micro construction site, yes to temporary storage at the executing company
According to numerous Indian press outlets, the publisher’s step back is related to some passages in the volume where Gandhi – who is one of the most well-known faces of the main opposition party – talks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi; the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu right-wing organization from which Modi comes; and the clashes between India and China that occurred in 2020-21 on the disputed border between the two countries.
“The insinuations” that the non-publication is due to “the author’s refusal to make editorial changes do not accurately reflect the circumstances,” reads a statement from Penguin Random House India. “As publishers, it is our responsibility to carry out fact-checking and advise authors in the interest of their books.”
Read more Refinery, investments are needed not taxes on windfall profits
According to sources cited by the newspaper The Hindu, when asked to remove passages from the book, Gandhi reportedly replied that it was the story of her life and that she would not alter anything in the text, because any form of self-censorship would interfere with the narrative process.
Penguin Random House India is no stranger to such reversals: this year it was supposed to publish the memoir of former army chief Manoj Makund Naravane, but it seems that – also in this case – the account of the clashes on the border with China blocked the release. The same fate befell The Once and Future Riot, a graphic novel by Joe Sacco about the clashes between Hindus and Muslims that occurred in 2013 in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, which was apparently blocked due to the presence of a map of India differing from the official one of the New Delhi government.
Read more Urso: “Former Ilva, Jindal has updated the binding offer” [Catenaccio]
