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Penguin Random House India Rejects Claim It Published Memoir

8/31/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Penguin Random House India says it is not the Indian publisher of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, rejecting the withdrawal claims.
Sonia Gandhi rejected edits to passages on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and China-India border clashes.
Penguin Random House said fact-checking and editorial recommendations are normal, remaining willing to publish.

History

Historical Context

After the 1989 Iranian fatwa against Salman Rushdie’s *The Satanic Verses* prompted India’s Rajiv Gandhi government to ban the book’s import, the 1995 Delhi High Court seized 2,000 copies, with Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the RSS condemning it. That precedent of censorship resurfaces as Penguin Random House confronts pressure over Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, cited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and amid China-India border tensions.

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Story summary

Penguin Random House India says it is not the Indian publisher of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, rejecting the withdrawal claims.
Sonia Gandhi rejected edits to passages on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and China-India border clashes.
Penguin Random House said fact-checking and editorial recommendations are normal, remaining willing to publish.

1 / 2