'He avoids eye contact': Sonia Gandhi details cold dynamics with PM Modi in new memoir 'Belonging'

In her just-released memoir, titled Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia Gandhi, former president of the Congress party and wife of the late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, claims that she has had "practically no real contact" with the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his over twelve years in power, noting how he never makes eye contact with her during their sparse meetings in the Indian Parliament.

The book highlights the gulf between their worldviews and personal beliefs, as well as rare insights into how they interact in public.

Formal greetings, eyes averted

Gandhi recalls how, in contrast to the previous generations of Indian politicians who were on cordial terms with their erstwhile rivals, she cannot even claim to be personally acquainted with PM Modi.

They only meet occasionally in planned gatherings at the Speaker's Chamber—in the course of the proceedings after Parliament meetings, where they will exchange a quick greeting.

Averting eye contact: Gandhi observes that when they meet alone in enclosed spaces, PM Modi "looks away, thus avoiding direct eye contact."

Limited exchanges: Apart from exchanging certain formal wishes on occasions such as birthdays and new year, the communication between PM Modi and meets mostly through brief exchanges of health pleasantries, such as PM Modi's question "Are you alright?" to be asked before or after her hospitalisation.

Opposing ideologies: RSS background vs. secular ideologies

The memoir portrays their strained ties as not a personal matter but an ideological clash between two conflicting perceptions of India.

Gandhi asserts her family's secular traditions that stem from freedom, equality, and social justice compared to PM Modi, whose political upbringing has been influenced by RSS ideology.

"He was fighting for his vision of India, and I for mine: an India against hegemony, an India that stands for inclusiveness, secularism, and social justice. It wasn't personal," Gandhi writes.

Gandhi points out PM Modi's perceptions which are based upon the principles of "order, hierarchy, and control", whereby his own religion and culture take precedence over others.

While criticising PM Modi's administration, Gandhi recognises the similar outsiders' nature of both of them when it comes to the traditional major political actors of Delhi.

She notes that while PM Modi's humble origins may be exaggerated by political marketing, he undoubtedly worked his way up from an underprivileged background through the RSS hierarchy.

Gandhi writes that she, too, often felt ill at ease in Delhi drawing rooms, viewing elite political discussions as detached from the daily struggles and suffering of citizens across rural India.

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