Sonia Gandhi did not resist her son Rahul Gandhi entering politics, contrasting sharply with her efforts two decades earlier to beg her husband Rajiv Gandhi to stay out of a menacing world, according to her memoir Belonging: A Journey Of Love.
The veteran leader’s book hits stands worldwide, detailing decades of family history and political transitions in India. Sonia Gandhi writes that Rahul held a long-standing interest in politics and maintained an enduring relationship with Amethi in Uttar Pradesh alongside his sister Priyanka.
As a schoolboy, Rajiv Gandhi took Rahul to Amethi to make him aware of rural life realities. Priyanka participated in Amethi through all of her elections, endearing herself to party workers and people while prioritizing her children and a postgraduate diploma in Buddhist studies.
Did You Know? Sonia Gandhi’s memoir begins in Cambridge, England, where she met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965 as a nineteen-year-old student.
Rahul pursued an MPhil in Cambridge focusing on Development Studies while closely following Indian political events from abroad. Party leaders strongly urged him to take an active role, which would change his life by thrusting him into the public eye where every step is watched and judged.
“The party had been strongly urging him to take on an active role, which would mean for him a complete change of life, he would become a public figure, watched and judged at every step,” writes Gandhi.
Rahul reached his decision after deep thinking and discussions with Sonia and Priyanka. In March 2004, Rahul announced he would contest from Amethi, while Sonia Gandhi moved to neighboring Rae Bareli.
Rahul won handsomely in his first election and launched businesses and industries into rural Amethi, mirroring his father’s earlier efforts. Priyanka proved a capable manager by starting self-help groups for women to become agents of change; with Rahul’s involvement, the Amethi self-help group became the largest in northern India.
Rahul also established a much-needed eye hospital with branches that later spread to Lucknow and Haryana. Sonia Gandhi writes that Rahul possessed a deep kinship with his father’s values and respected the courage with which Rajiv soldiered on despite looming threats.
Rahul Gandhi’s MPhil subject at Cambridge was Development Studies, and he closely followed Indian political events while employed abroad, according to Sonia Gandhi’s memoir.
Priyanka Gandhi proved herself a capable manager by starting self-help groups that encouraged women to support one another, eventually building northern India’s largest self-help group network alongside Rahul, as reported in the book.
In March 2004, Rahul announced he would contest an election from Amethi, prompting Sonia Gandhi to move to neighboring Rae Bareli.
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