Sonia Gandhi Recalls Difficulty of Renouncing Her Italian Citizenship

Sonia Gandhi's new memoir reveals the emotional weight of renouncing her Italian citizenship. She describes the difficulty of letting go of her birth identity to formalize her life in India as she embraced her role alongside Rajiv Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi's Journey to Indian Citizenship

Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi explained that giving up her Italian passport and adopting Indian citizenship felt more difficult, as it was a part of herself that she had brought from Italy. In her memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', Gandhi said that the passport allowed her to visit her parents without filling many forms. However, her visits to Italy decreased over time, and she couldn't relate to the life there anymore.

"Soon a new question arose from the changes in our lives: that of my nationality. 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. Also, I could visit my parents without filling in many forms, getting sponsorship letters, and so on. But my trips to Italy had become few and far between over time; I didn't relate to the way of life there anymore," she wrote.

Formalising Her Life in India

While Sonia Gandhi does not specify the year she renounced her Italian citizenship, the record mentions is as 1983. in her book, Sonia Gandhi said that as Rajiv Gandhi became the centre of attention (having won an election in 198!), it was fitting that she adopt India as home, like she had adapted to its food, attire, and thinking by acquiring Indian citizenship.

"I could see my parents when they visited, and they had come to love India. My family, my friends were here. I had adopted Indian ways in my food and dress habits and in my way of thinking. It was my unquestioned world, and I felt rooted in it. I was, to all intents and purposes, Indian, and formal nationality seemed irrelevant. But now that Rajiv was in public life and had become the focus of attention, it seemed the right time to formalise things," she wrote.

The Final Procedure at the Embassy

She further described the formal proceedings at the Italian ambassador's residence; Gandhi recounts the moment an embassy official emphasised the finality of her decision.

"After I’d filled up the requisite application forms, the procedure took place at the Italian ambassador’s residence. An embassy official handed me a document and directed me to peruse it and understand its contents fully, then read it out before him. In declaring that I was renouncing my nationality and surrendering my passport, in his words, 'I ought to be fully aware of the finality of the action' I was about to take," she wrote in the memoir.

The memoir further expresed Gandhi's surge of emotions during the procedure. She said that she could barely hide her agitation while reading the document aloud before the ambassador. She realised that a part of her identity, which she had brought from Italy, was now gone.

"I was a bit taken aback by the emphatic, almost reproachful command of the official. I had taken the decision and was well aware of its meaning, I thought. But then, reading the words aloud before the ambassador, I experienced a strong emotion. My heart began to race, my face was burning, and I could barely hide my agitation. It felt very like the disquiet I’d experienced at the time of my wedding when I had to change my name and let go of one part of my identity. Now the little that had remained of it was going forever," she wrote.

Sonia Gandhi's citizenship has been the subject of much debate with several BJP leaders alleging that she had registered to vote in 1980 while still an Italian citizen. (ANI)

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