Sonia Gandhi discusses memoir, Modi criticism and youth‑led hope

Sonia Gandhi, 79, sat down for a seldom‑given interview with The Guardian to talk about her forthcoming memoir, the assassinations that thrust her into politics, her criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and why she believes youth protests signal a brighter future.

How did Sonia Gandhi rise to political prominence?

She entered the political arena after her husband Rajiv Gandhi was killed in 1991, taking charge of a fragmented Congress party. According to The Guardian, she had earlier held the blood‑stained body of her mother‑in‑law Indira Gandhi after the 1984 assassination, became India’s first lady when Rajiv succeeded Indira as prime minister, and later declined the prime‑ministerial post after Congress’s 2004 electoral win. She went on to become the longest‑serving Congress president, remaining at the party’s helm both in government and in opposition until she stepped down in 2017, naming her son Rahul as successor.

What is her view of Narendra Modi’s government?

Gandhi describes Modi’s twelve‑year rule as an “authoritarian force bent upon changing the very nature of our country,” accusing the BJP of dismantling democratic institutions and targeting minorities, including India’s roughly 200 million Muslims. She says parliamentary debate has been curtailed and the opposition reduced to “nothing,” noting a climate of fear created by the government’s crackdown on dissent.

Why does she feel hopeful about India’s future?

Despite her apprehensions about media scrutiny and a publisher’s reluctance to release her memoir, Gandhi points to recent youth protests as a source of optimism. She told The Guardian that the energy of young demonstrators gives her confidence that India can move beyond the “horrible and crazy things written about” her and the Congress party, and that a new generation may reshape the nation’s political landscape.