Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid an emotional tribute to his mother Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, looking back at the years of strength and perseverance he says he witnessed in her following the death of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi shared the message on Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary, recalling the profound impact his father’s assassination in 1991 had on their family. Addressing Sonia Gandhi affectionately as “Mama”, he said that he and his sister Priyanka were among those who had seen the difficult years she experienced after Rajiv Gandhi’s death.

He expressed admiration for the way his mother dealt with the challenges that followed, describing her as someone who confronted life with remarkable courage and dignity.

Rahul also spoke about Sonia Gandhi’s forthcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, which is scheduled for publication on November 10. He said he was delighted that her story would soon be available to the millions of people who admire her.

For Rahul, the book represents something particularly significant because Sonia Gandhi has generally maintained a private life away from public scrutiny. He acknowledged that putting her personal experiences into words and sharing them with readers could not have been easy.

Reflecting on Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Rahul added that he imagined his father looking down with pride at Sonia.

Priyanka Gandhi also remembers her parents’ relationship

Rahul’s sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also marked the occasion with a tribute to Sonia Gandhi.

Priyanka said she believed Rajiv Gandhi would have felt proud of Sonia for opening up about her life and documenting it with honesty.

Describing her parents’ relationship as one of the great love stories she had witnessed, Priyanka said she felt fortunate to have seen their bond closely.

She also said the memoir would give readers an opportunity to discover the woman behind Sonia Gandhi’s public identity—a person she described as courageous, compassionate, loyal and resilient, while also possessing a lighter, playful side.

Sonia Gandhi’s memoir to trace journey from Italy to India

Belonging: A Journey of Love is expected to offer a personal account of Sonia Gandhi’s journey from post-war Italy to India, where she married Rajiv Gandhi and became part of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

The memoir is scheduled to be released on November 10, with publisher Alfred A. Knopf having announced the publication. The India release date has not yet been confirmed by Penguin Random House India.

Among the subjects covered in the book are Sonia Gandhi’s experiences adapting to Indian life, learning Hindi and coming to terms with the country’s political and social environment.

The memoir also recounts some of the most painful episodes in her life, including the deaths of Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in 1991.

Sonia Gandhi’s subsequent entry into active politics and her decision to turn down the post of Prime Minister after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won the 2004 election are also part of her story.

For Sonia Gandhi, writing the memoir involved revisiting experiences that she had kept private for years. She has described the process as difficult because it required her to revisit and reveal deeply personal memories.