In his book 'The Sounds of Satyagraha: Mahatma Gandhi's use of sung-prayers and ritual', author Cynthia Snodgrass writes that 'Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram' was chanted during the Dandi March in 1930 and "there were, and are, several versions of Ramdhun in vogue".

According to Snodgrass, the version that Gandhi used had an ecumenical flavour to it.

"The third line read that the Ishwar of the Hindus and the Allah of the Muslims were one and the same," notes Snodgrass.

In an article published in Young India on January 22, 1925, Mahatma Gandhi wrote “Rama, Allah and God are to me convertible terms”.

Mahatma Gandhi made specific reference to his grand-niece, Manu, having been with him to Noakhali (now in Bangladesh), where communal riots broke out in 1946.

"During that tour, she found a melodious tune. Of course, she has not composed it. It is more true to say that God prompted her to say: 'Ishvar Allah tere nam sabko sanmati de Bhagawan.' In a speech given at the Inter-Asian Relations Conference on April 2, 1947, Gandhi declared: 'I am not postponing the prayer out of fear. If anybody wants to stop me once I have started the prayers I shall not stop even if I am killed. And you will see I shall be reciting Rama Rahim and Krishna Karim when I breathe my last'," notes Snodgrass.

In fact, after his return from Noakhali, Mahatma Gandhi replaced the refrain 'Bhaj Mann Pyare Sitaram' by 'Bhaj Mann pyare Rama Rahim, Bhaj Mann Pyare Krishna Karim', notes Snodgrass.

Mahatma Gandhi's version of Ramdhun became the very basis of Nehruvian secularism, as the devotional song derived communal harmony and a promise of Ram Rajya in a "non-religious" context.

As Mahatma Gandhi affirms in another article published in Harijan on April 28, 1946, the idea that the Ram of which he spoke had no correspondence to "the historical Rama, the ruler of Ayodhya and the son of King Dasharatha".