Sonia Gandhi Details First Child's Death in New Memoir
In her memoir *Belonging: A Journey of Love*, Sonia Gandhi recounts the premature birth and death of her first son in 1969 and the family's decision to bury him at the Mehrauli farmhouse.
Sonia Gandhi's recently published memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love reveals the loss of her first child, a baby boy born prematurely on 18 January 1969. The newborn survived only a day before dying in the hospital, a tragedy that Sonia describes as a profound personal trauma.
She writes that the family was informed of the death early the next morning and that she and Rajiv Gandhi grieved together, with Indira Gandhi arriving at the hospital after cutting short an official trip. The memoir details the dilemma over the child's final rites; Hindu customs suggested immersion in a river, but Sonia recalls refusing this option, citing a distressing memory of a dead body found near the Okhla barrage.
The family ultimately chose to bury the infant at the Gandhi family's farmhouse in Mehrauli, a spot beneath a blooming pink bougainvillea where Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi placed the grave. Sonia notes that they later left flowers at the site during visits.
The book also mentions a newspaper headline from a right-wing opposition paper that mocked the tragedy, which Sonia says deepened her sense of hurt.
She concludes by describing how, in October 1969, she announced another pregnancy, leading to the birth of Rahul Gandhi on 19 June 1970, which marked a new chapter for the family.