Hailing from an agrarian family in Tiruchengodu, he completed his schooling in Tirunchengodu where he was influenced by his teachers Kuppusamy, Shanmugam and Natesan to the tenets of C.N.
Later he went to complete his bachelor's degree in Commerce and Law subsequently practising as a Lawyer in the Madras High Court.
He was inspired by the Dravidian ideologies and inculcated a spirit of commitment to society and the scuase of Tamil by Arignar Anna whom he regarded as a role model.
MGR's Nadodi Mannan film which poignantly embodied the doctrines of Anna fueled the ignited mind of the teenager who had a tormented ambition to commit himself to public life and made him join the DMK in 1957.
He took part in the anti Hindi agitation alongside stalwarts C.N.Annadurai, M.G.Ramachandran, Nedunchezhian, K. A. Mathiazhagan, as it subdued the interests of Tamil Nadu.
He held several portfolios including that of Transport, Highways, Law, Cooperation, Education, Industry, Agriculture and Sports.