Sonia Gandhi's Autobiography Criticized for Omitting Telangana Movement

Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader Vinod Kumar Boinapalli on Thursday, November 12, questioned the “omission” of the Telangana movement in Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s autobiography ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love.’ In a post on X, the founder-member of BRS said Gandhi played a “pivotal role in the decision-making that led to the formation of Telangana.” He said her contribution was “widely acknowledged and appreciated by” the people of Telangana. Despite her supporting the movement, marked by the “sacrifices of more than 1,200 students and activists,” she does not even “mention the word Telangana,” the BRS leader said. “As Congress President and UPA Chairperson, she recognised the deep public sentiment and the moral force of a historic movement marked by years of protests, strikes and the sacrifices of over 1,200 students and activists,” Kumar said. “Yet, interestingly, her latest memoir, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, launched on November 10, 2026, makes no mention of this historic chapter, not even the word ‘Telangana’,” he added. He said that the reason behind the omission is “best known to her.” Gandhi’s ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love,’ published by HarperCollins India, is a personal memoir, with politics providing the background or “a kind of framework,” as she writes in the book. It begins with Gandhi’s childhood in post-war Veneto, Italy, and traces her journey to Cambridge, where she met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965. The memoir recounts her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi and her introduction to her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, as well as her efforts to adjust to life in India, including learning Hindi, wearing saris, and adapting to Indian food and culture. The memoir also delves into political events surrounding the Congress-led alliance’s victory in the 2004 elections, when Sonia Gandhi declined to become Prime Minister and instead led the party and its alliance, which governed India for a decade.