Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has recalled the emotional process of surrendering her Italian passport and taking Indian citizenship in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.
Gandhi wrote that she had retained her Italian passport because it represented the part of her identity she had brought with her from Italy. It also enabled her to visit her parents without completing several forms or obtaining sponsorship letters. However, she said her visits to Italy gradually became less frequent and that she no longer related to the way of life there.
“I’d kept my Italian passport because it was the part of me that I brought to India, the Italy that my proud and patriotic father had fought for with his comrades,” Gandhi wrote. She added that her parents had come to love India and that her family and friends were based there.
Although Gandhi does not mention the year in which she gave up Italian citizenship, the record lists it as 1983. In the memoir, she said that with Rajiv Gandhi becoming the centre of public attention after winning an election in 198!, it appeared appropriate to formally adopt India as her home.
Gandhi wrote that she had already adapted to Indian food, clothing and ways of thinking. She described India as her unquestioned world and said she felt rooted in it. Since Rajiv Gandhi had entered public life and become the focus of attention, she felt it was the right time to formalise her nationality.
The formal process took place at the residence of the Italian ambassador after she completed the required application forms. Gandhi recalled that an embassy official gave her a document and instructed her to read it carefully, understand its contents and then read it aloud before him.
The document stated that, by renouncing her nationality and surrendering her passport, she had to be fully aware of the finality of the decision. Gandhi wrote that the official’s emphatic instruction initially took her by surprise, although she believed she understood the significance of the step.
She described becoming visibly unsettled while reading the declaration before the ambassador. Her heart began to race, her face felt hot and she struggled to conceal her agitation. Gandhi compared the experience with the unease she had felt at the time of her wedding, when she changed her name and gave up one part of her identity.
According to Gandhi’s account, surrendering the passport made her feel that the remaining part of her Italian identity was also disappearing. She said the decision was difficult because the passport had been closely connected to her sense of self and her family background.
Sonia Gandhi’s citizenship has been a subject of political debate, with several BJP leaders alleging that she registered as a voter in 1980 while she was still an Italian citizen.
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