Dhinakaran was born on 1 July 1935 at Surandai[1] in Tirunelveli district of Madras Presidency (today Tamil Nadu), British India.
[3] Dhinakaran was involved in evangelical activities for some time prior to leaving his job at the bank in October 1962 to evangelise on a full-time basis.
[2][5] He also played a significant role in the formation of Seesha, a voluntary body concerned with educating underprivileged children and with assisting rural people.
[2] Dhinakaran, who remained a member of the Church of South India,[5] was among the first Indian Christian leaders to appreciate the potential of television as a medium for evangelism.
In doing this he was following a pattern established in the US and challenging the conservative opinions of his peers, who associated television with the perceived moral laxities of the Indian cinema industry.