Sonia Gandhi’s newly published memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, provides a detailed account of the internal dynamics within the Gandhi family during the 1970s and 1980s. According to ThePrint, the book describes Maneka Gandhi’s relationship with Rajiv and Sonia as one marked by friction, with Maneka viewing the couple as rivals and utilizing journalists to share her perspective. Sonia writes that the family was particularly troubled by the narrative that Rajiv and she intended to leave India after the Congress party lost the 1977 general election.
The memoir traces the origins of the tension to the 1973 relationship between Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka, who was ten years younger than Sanjay at the time. Sonia notes that her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, anticipated difficulties due to the age gap and Sanjay’s established habits. The couple married in September 1974, with Indira providing the fabric for Maneka’s wedding sari and Sanjay selecting a heart-shaped opal ring from his mother’s jewelry box. Sonia recalls her initial impression of Maneka as a lively and energetic young woman, though the relationship between the two daughters-in-law deteriorated over time.
Following Sanjay’s death in a 1980 aircraft crash, political ambitions became a source of further conflict. Sonia describes Indira’s concern that Maneka was encouraging Sanjay’s political activities rather than restraining them. The situation escalated in March 1981 when Maneka hosted Varun’s first birthday party at the home of Vasundhara Raje, a political opponent of Indira. Sonia characterizes the subsequent departure of Maneka from the household as a manipulated event that resembled a modern reality show.
The dispute over custody of Varun continued for years, with the family approaching courts for visiting rights. Sonia recounts that when Varun was four, Indira asked her to leave gifts at his nursery school, leading Maneka to accuse her in the press of attempting to kidnap the child. Maneka eventually left the Gandhi household after a confrontation with Indira, later contesting the 1984 Lok Sabha election against Rajiv as an independent candidate before joining the Janata Dal in 1988 and the BJP in 2004.