In this episode of Editorial, HW News Managing Editor Sujit Nair speaks on the controversy around Sonia Gandhi's memoir, 'Belonging'. Mr. Nair questions Penguin India over its stance, shrinking space for free spech, and whether Modi government put pressure on the publisher.
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[00:00:00] I am writing my memoirs. What happened to me? Where did I go? How did I school? How did I meet this person? What this person told to me? And imagine the publisher tell me, don't write that because it is not good. There is a factual error. What is wrong with you? It is my memoirs. Why is everybody scared to talk what they feel like in India? This is not what we are, are we?
[00:00:28] Namaskar. Welcome to another episode of Editorial. You know, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, she wrote her memoirs and she called it Belonging. The cover looks brilliant. I am sure you are seeing it on the screen. Now, Penguin said, listen, you know what? We will publish it. And obviously any publisher would have loved to publish a book written by Sonia Gandhi.
[00:00:57] These are big catches for these publishing houses. So, yeah, they said they will publish it. And Sonia Gandhi wrote, gave it to them and then they realized Baba, Penguin India. Let me make that very, very clear. Because Penguin, United States and all have published it. They are ready. There is no problem.
[00:01:15] Penguin India says, yeah, we can't publish it as is. Why? Why? Because Sonia Gandhi writes a few points or few instances about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in her book. Sonia Gandhi writes about Chinese intrusion. Sonia Gandhi writes about RSS, Baba Preh. She wrote about RSS in that book. And she wrote about BJP.
[00:01:43] So, Penguin said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. How can you write about RSS? How can you write about Narendra Modi? RSS meeting? Narendra Modi are writing. How can you write about them? No, no, you can't. You can't write about them. So, you'll have to make some changes. Okay. And Chinese intrusion, you can't write about. So, Sonia Gandhi said, I will not write. I don't want you to publish because, arre, my memoirs are there.
[00:02:08] My memoirs, if it includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, should I not write? Just because you are scared or you don't want to publish? I don't know what the reason is, but just because of that, you're not going to allow me to write. Just because you have a problem, I should not write about RSS. Just because you have a problem, I should not write about Bharatiya Janta Party. So, what? Then you write. Why should I write? Isn't it? It is as simple as that. Sonia Gandhi refused, which was expected also.
[00:02:34] Again, I tell you, their own publication, NARF has announced the release of the book on the 10th of November in US. NARF is a Penguin sister company. They are publishing it, but Indian Penguin is not publishing it. First of all, the same Penguin had published this book called, The Accidental Prime Minister, which dealt, of course, with Manmohan Singh.
[00:03:04] And Dr. Manmohan Singh, as is what he was, the way he was, he obviously, obviously, he clarified a few things, but he never took objection to it because that's how it is. Freedom of speech, remember? That's how it is. But Penguin published it. Penguin published it absolutely with all the fanfare.
[00:03:29] They published it. Penguin also published Exam Warriors, Narendra Modi. You are seeing the book on your screen. That Penguin published it? Very clearly they thought it was the most important book they published it. But belonging, they said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. How can you write about Prime Minister Narendra Modi? So he didn't publish it. Now, Penguin has their point of view. Now let me also read that. That won't be fair, isn't it?
[00:03:59] So let me read Penguin's point of view and then we will talk about our point of view. So Penguin's official statement is that in response to the news report about Sonia Gandhi's book Belonging, Penguin Random House India, they say, is not the publisher of Belonging in India.
[00:04:18] Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish Belonging because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances. This statement to my mind itself says that they asked them to change, they asked Mrs. Gandhi to change something she must have refused.
[00:04:40] This is what at least I understood out of this particular first paragraph. The second paragraph, it goes on to say that as a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendation and are in the best interest of their book. So, this is a normal part of publishing process. Throughout the relevant discussion, Penguin Random House India's position was that we remain willing and keen to publish the book.
[00:05:11] We will not comment further on the confidential discussion that we had with the author. First of all, they start saying that we are not publishing only, Baba. India, Penguin Random House and all is not the publisher of this book called Belonging in India. They first say that and then they say that no, you know what, but then we went and told the author that, you know, there are, there are, we recommended our changes and all that, but the author, you know, it is our job to recommend changes and all that.
[00:05:35] But then by the sheer, you know, the tone of the letter, whatever they were trying to say, I don't know, but the tone of the letter itself says that they tried to recommend some changes. Sonia Gandhi must have asked them to take a walk. And then today, the case is that the book is not being published in India. At least that is what it looks like at the moment.
[00:05:55] At the moment. Now, two, three questions here. First question is, I am writing my memoirs. I am writing my memoirs. What happened to me? Where did I go? How did I school? How did I meet this person? What this person told to me? And imagine the publisher tell me, no, no, no, no, no, no. That is not what the person told you. This is possibly what the person must have told you. Or you know, when the person said that, don't write that because it is not good. There is a factual error.
[00:06:22] What is wrong with you? It is my memoirs here. It is my memoirs. So what is this publication which seems to have huge brand value and all that and huge brand name and all that across the globe. What is this publication talking about? Why would they ask somebody to change their own memoirs?
[00:06:42] Don't think about it. What is the memoirs? What do you write out of your memory? What do you mean? The publication comes and tells you, no, no, no, don't think about it. That is not factually correct what you are thinking. So factually correct is different. You didn't go there to meet him. You went there to meet him. Does it doesn't even make sense? Number one. Number two, is this how you run a publication house?
[00:07:07] So because possibly for some odd reason, you don't want to talk much about the prime minister, possibly which would harm his image, or you don't want to talk much about RSS, which could harm their image, or you don't want to talk much about a particular party because it could harm their image. So you ask them, you ask the author to change? Is that how your publication actually works? I'm appalled. I'm appalled.
[00:07:35] Finally, I want to ask the government. Why is this penguin not publishing? Why is penguin not publishing? They didn't even publish General Narayana's book. General Narayana's book is still yet to see the light of the day. It has not hit the stands. They didn't publish it. What is scaring them? And why are everybody scared in India? BBC is scared in India. We are scared in India. Why is everybody scared to talk what they feel like in India?
[00:08:03] This is not what we are, this is not what we are. So that means the way to keep a brand looking good is, you know, constantly shut down anything that talks bad about that brand? Is that how you make a brand look good?
[00:08:25] Will that last? Will that last? Because in the history of known world, it has never lasted. It has never lasted. By shutting a critic, a brand has never survived. In the history of the world, it has never happened.
[00:08:41] A brand survives based on what the brand does. Never by shutting somebody else's down or a critic down. It never has worked. A lot of brands have tried it. Political brands and otherwise normal brands also.
[00:08:59] The point that I am trying to make is, no, this is not even, you know, it's kind of funny now. It's happening so often that it's kind of funny. Exam Warriors published by Penguin, but a book called The Belongings Couldn't Get or are currently under a lot of kind of discussions and problems.
[00:09:25] Why? That's the point I wanted to make. Till I see you next time. That's tomorrow at 10. Namaskar.