Veteran Congress leader and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's wife, Sonia Gandhi, has recalled in her newly released memoir that her husband was among the earliest Indian leaders to recognise the transformative potential of what he called 'machine intelligence' — shortly after assuming office in 1984. The memoir, titled 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', was released on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, in New Delhi.

The Vision Behind the 'Computer Boy' Taunt

Sonia Gandhi writes that when Rajiv Gandhi took charge as Prime Minister, a phrase that Indians began hearing with increasing frequency was 'the India of the twenty-first century'. His push for telecommunications and technology was met with open ridicule: she recalls he was mocked as a 'computer boy' and his enthusiasm was dismissed with the jibe that he was promoting 'rich men's toys'.

'When he spoke of it, a future of telecommunications, he was mocked as a 'computer boy' and the subject of his enthusiasm dismissed as 'rich men's toys',' she wrote.

Despite such resistance, Sonia Gandhi says Rajiv Gandhi — described in the memoir as 'always a doer' and firmly 'convinced of the benefits of science and technology' — pressed ahead, pushing new systems into what she characterised as 'archaic and inefficient' government practices. He reportedly made sudden, unannounced visits to government departments to verify that newly installed computers were actually being used.

The Mechanic's Mindset Applied to Telecom

Sonia Gandhi draws an evocative parallel between her husband's pre-political career as a trained commercial pilot and his approach to nation-building. 'Just as he'd roll up his sleeves and get down to fixing a part of an engine, he dedicated time and effort to building up and expanding telecommunication networks throughout the country,' she wrote.

Central to that effort, she notes, was Sam Pitroda, described in the memoir as a 'talented and eager Indian American telecom engineer' whom Rajiv Gandhi engaged as his advisor. Pitroda's role in India's telecom expansion of the 1980s is widely regarded by analysts as foundational to the country's subsequent IT growth.

At Home, a Laugh and a Prophecy

Sonia Gandhi offers an intimate glimpse of how Rajiv Gandhi processed the criticism he faced. She recalls that when the two discussed press reactions at home, he would 'laugh and tell our children that the benefits of machine intelligence would be understood one day; his critics would then have to change their minds.' The reference to 'machine intelligence' — a term now synonymous with artificial intelligence — is striking in its prescience, given the era in which it was used.

Technology Missions and Their Legacy

Beyond telecommunications, Sonia Gandhi credits her husband's technology missions — covering drinking water, literacy, immunisation, oil seeds, and dairy — with outcomes that have shaped modern India. She writes that these missions resulted in India becoming polio-free, raising the country's literacy level to 74 per cent, and making India the world's largest producer of milk.

The memoir arrives at a moment when artificial intelligence has re-entered national and global discourse with fresh urgency, lending an added layer of relevance to Sonia Gandhi's recollections of a Prime Minister who spoke of machine intelligence's benefits four decades ago. With the book now in public circulation, it is expected to reignite debate over Rajiv Gandhi's technological legacy and its long-term impact on India's digital economy.