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v t e

"Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram" (also called Ram Dhun) is a bhajan (devotional song) widely popularised by Mahatma Gandhi and set to tune by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in Raga Mishra Gara.

History

Origins

The precise origins of the song are not entirely clear. It is believed to have been either written by Tulsidas (or based on his work Ramcharitmanas) or based on a 17th-century sung-prayer by the Marathi saint-poet Ramdas.

Anthony Parel writes in Gandhi's Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony,

he origin of Ramdhun is shrouded in legend. According to the legend that he preferred it was composed by the great Hindu poet Tulsidas (1532-1623). While on a pilgrimage visiting the Vishnu temple of Dakore, Northern India, Tulsidas was moved to bargain with Vishnu. Until Vishnu revealed himself as Rama he would not bow his head in prayer. His wish was promptly granted: Rama appeared in his mind with his wife Sita, and three of their devotees. Hence, explains Gandhi, "Ramdhun, meaning intoxication with God

Gandhi's version

There have been many versions of the Ramdhun, and the version that Mahatma Gandhi used had an "ecumenical flavour" to it.

Hindu-Muslim unity

Gandhi modified the original bhajan, adding that the Ishwar of the Hindus and the Allah of the Muslims were one and the same, to make the song more secular-looking and to spread the message of reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims.

The song was extensively used to project a secular and composite vision of Indian society— it was sung during the 1930 Salt March. After Gandhi's return from Noakhali, he replaced the refrain Bhaj man pyare Sitaram by Bhaj man pyare Rama Rahim, bhaj man pyare Krishna Karim, to better reflect the desired Hindu-Muslim unity.

Criticism and objection

Some Hindus and Muslims have also criticised the changes Gandhi made in his version. Muslims resented it when Gandhi started reciting the bhajan and put Allah on par with Ram. Hindus have objected to the "distortion" of the Hindu bhajan due to the addition of Islamic elements in it. Srila Prabhupada was not interested in this version of the Ram Dhun because it had been popularized by Gandhi– who had deviated from the original Dhun, to appease and unite Hindus and Muslims and to gain support of the Indian population, and it was not for pure devotional service.

In September 2022, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti claimed that BJP was pushing its Hindutva agenda by forcing Muslim children in Kashmir to sing bhajans in schools, after the Government of India had issued a directive for schools to recite an "all faith prayer -- Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram.. Ishwar Allah tero naam." as a part of a series of activities taking place to mark the 153rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. While National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah rejected Mufti's claims, Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema, a conglomerate of religious and social organisations in Kashmir, urged the government and education department to stop practices like 'singing of bhajans and Surya Namaskars' in schools, as they "hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims" and "undermine the Muslim identity of Kashmir". Former Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, too called it an "assault on Kashmiri culture and identity".

In December 2024, in an event organised in Patna, Bihar by BJP to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when folk singer Devi sang the line "Ishwar Allah tero naam" during her rendition of Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, protests erupted among a section of the audience. She was asked to apologize, and former Union minister, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, then took the microphone from her and shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to try to pacify the crowd. Former MP Shahnawaz Hussain, who was also present in the event, called the disruption “the height of intolerance”.

In popular culture

• Elements of the chant were included in the song "Utho Utho he Bharat" in the movie Bharat Milap (1942), in songs of Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman (1948), the song "De Dii Hamen Aazaadii" in the movie Jagriti (1954), Purab Aur Paschim (1970) and in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), in the Kannada film Gandhinagara (1968), in the British-Indian movie Gandhi (1982), in the film Gandhi, My Father (2007), in Satyagraha (2013), and also in Krrish 3 (2013).
• The song is an important motif in the 2006 Bollywood film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and is featured in the movie.
• Pete Seeger included "Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram" on his album "Strangers and Cousins" (1964) and performed it in Episode 10 of his television series Rainbow Quest.
• The game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories featured Ananda Shankar's version on one of the in-game radio stations, "Radio del Mundo".

See also

• Vaishnava Jana To
• Hari Tuma Haro
• Hanuman Chalisa
• Shri Ramachandra Kripalu
• Thumak Chalat Ram Chandra

References

1. Lal, Vinay (2014). "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram". In Helfenstein, Josef; Newland, Joseph N. (eds.). Experiments with Truth: Gandhi and Images of Nonviolence. Houston: The Menil Collection. pp. 244–45.
2. Dalton, Dennis (1993). Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action. Columbia University Press. p. 109. ISBN 0-231-12237-3.
3. Sinha, Manjari (8 August 2008). "Tuned to excellence". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
4. Lal, Vinay (2014). "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram". In Helfenstein, Josef; Newland, Joseph N. (eds.). Experiments with Truth: Gandhi and Images of Nonviolence. Houston: The Menil Collection. pp. 244–45.
5. Devi, Vindhya Basini (1998). Loka-rāmāyaṇa: Śrīmad Gosvāmi Tulasīdāsa jī viracita Śrī Rāmacarita Mānasa para ādhārita (in Hindi). Madhyapradeśa Tulasī Akādemī.
6. Snodgrass, Cynthia (2007). The Sounds of Satyagraha : Mahatma Gandhi's Use of Sung-Prayers and Ritual (PDF) (PhD). University of Stirling. p. 159.
7. Gokhale, Namita (15 October 2009). In Search Of Sita: Revisiting Mythology. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-93-5118-420-1.
8. Parel, Anthony J. (10 August 2006). Gandhi's Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony. Cambridge University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-521-86715-3.
9. "'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram': Why Mahatma Gandhi tweaked the original lyrics". India Today. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
10. Thapar, Romesh (1998). Seminar. Rarely do they bother to point to his innovation of adding Ishwar Allah Tero Naam to the Tulsidas Ram dhun Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram.
11. Handoo, Jawaharlal (1998). Folklore in Modern India. Central Institute of Indian Languages. ISBN 978-81-7342-053-5.
12. "Dandi: Salt March". Lal, Vinay. University of California, Los Angeles.
13. Snodgrass, Cynthia (2007). "The sounds of Satyagraha : Mahatma Gandhi's use of sung-prayers and ritual". p. 160 – via Academia.edu.
14. Pattnayak, K., ed. (1969). Mankind. Vol. 13. Contributor: Rammanohar Lohia. p. 31.
15. Guha, Ramachandra (30 January 2019). Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5305-259-1.
16. True Indology (30 May 2020). "Left: Original Hindu prayer "Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram" Right: Gandhi's distortion. He added "Allah, Rahim" Gandhi urged his supporters to sing it inside temples. He said Allah deserves as much worship as Ishvar in Hindu temple Gandhi STRICTLY forbade singing it in Mosques" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
17. Swami, HH Lokanath (21 August 2020). In Conversation with Srila Prabhupada: Contexts and Contemplations. Padayatra Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-620-58488-3.
18. "Mehbooba Mufti claims students forced to sing bhajans in J&K school, gets fact checked". India Today. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
19. "Islamic body seeks ban on bhajan, Surya namaskar in J&K schools after Mehbooba's 'Hindutva' push claim". India Today. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
20. "Kashmir's Muslim identity being undermined by government, says Valley Muslim groups amalgam". The Hindu. 24 September 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
21. Lodhi, Maleeha (3 October 2022). "Assault on Kashmiri identity". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
22. Singh, Santosh (26 December 2024). "'Ishwar Allah tero naam': Protest erupts over bhajan at Vajpayee tribute event in Patna, BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain calls it 'height of intolerance'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
23. "BJP Leaders Stop Artist from Singing 'Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram' Because of Line About Allah". The Wire. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
24. "Forced to Apologise, It was not From My Heart: Folk Singer Devi on Row over Gandhi's Bhajan". Clarion India. 29 December 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
25. Bose, Rakhi (24 January 2023). "'Ishwar Allah Tero Naam' No More: The Fading Secularism Of Bollywood Songs". Outlook India. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
26. "Purab aur Pachhim | Indian Cinema - The University of Iowa". indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu. There is also Francis, a French hippie pal of Orphan, who sacrifices his life to save Bharat in a club brawl and then dies requesting, "Pour l'amour de Dieu....votre chanson" (i.e., the Gandhian anthem Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram), while cradled in Bharat and Orphan's arms in an amazing intercultural pieta.
27. Indian Horizons. Indian Council for Cultural Relations. 2008. p. 55. ...band of boisterous hippies who energetically throw themselves into singing, "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram." The re-working of one of Gandhi's favourite hymn is effected through wit, humour, irony and even irreverence.
28. "Gandhinagara | Raghupathi Raghava song", YouTube, retrieved 27 August 2022
29. "Songs for the 'Great Soul'". ABC Radio National. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
30. "Gandhi My Father: 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' song | Entertainment - Times of India Videos". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
31. "Gandhiji's Raghupati Raghav modified for 'Satyagraha' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
32. "Watch: 'Raghupati Raghav',a new party anthem from Hrithik Roshan's 'Krrish 3'". The Indian Express. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
33. Chopra, Vinod (2010). Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Om Books International. ISBN 978-93-80069-75-3.
34. "Pete Seeger - Strangers And Cousins", Discogs, retrieved 27 August 2022
35. "Episode 10 - Rainbow Quest by Pete Seeger: Herbert Manana", YouTube, retrieved 16 March 2024
36. "GTA Liberty City Stories (Radio Del Mundo) Ananda Shankar - Raghupati", YouTube, retrieved 27 August 2022

Bibliography

• Dalton, Dennis (1993). Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12237-3.

• Hindu music
• Vaishnavism
• Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi
• Bhakti movement
• Bhajan
• Hindu devotional songs