Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir Has Wrong Dates For RSS, Anna Movement, Readers Say

The memoir says the RSS was founded in 1921. Its official records say September 27, 1925, in Nagpur

November 11, 2026

RSS, Anna Hazare, Ahmed Patel: Three Errors Found In Gandhi’s Book

The book places the RSS’s founding in 1921, while its records give September 27, 1925

Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, released on November 10, has come under fire from readers who say it contains at least three factual errors on well-documented events, according to Organiser.

The first concerns the RSS. On page 338 of Chapter 24, the book says the organisation was “founded in 1921.” The RSS was founded on September 27, 1925, in Nagpur by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar on Vijayadashami, a four-year difference. The organisation’s official records give the same date.
The second is in Chapter 33, page 461, where the memoir says Anna Hazare became the face of the India Against Corruption movement in 2012. The movement gained national prominence in 2011, when Hazare began an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on April 5, demanding a strong Jan Lokpal law.
The third appears in Chapter 29, page 401, where the book says Ahmed Patel, a close political aide of Gandhi’s, died of COVID-19 in 2022. The veteran Congress leader died on November 25, 2020.

The discrepancies have raised questions about the proofreading and historical accuracy of a memoir by a senior political leader, particularly one that covers major political events and figures. Readers have called for greater care in verifying dates before publication.

The book was already in the news before launch, after reports that its publisher had changed from Penguin Random House to HarperCollins.

Separately, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has criticised the memoir. VHP Central Joint General Secretary Dr Surendra Jain alleged that Gandhi expressed anguish over the demolition of the Babri structure but showed no similar concern for the suffering of Hindus or the sacrifices of security personnel. He cited the 2008 Batla House encounter and questioned whether she had shown similar grief over the death of Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. He also raised the plight of Kashmiri Hindus, the killing of kar sevaks and the killing of Hindu tourists in Pahalgam.

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