He was born in the Colony of Natal and came to India with his parents as a grown man.

He became active in his father's movement, spending many terms in jail.

He also became a prominent journalist, serving as editor of Hindustan Times.

He was also the first pracharak of the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (DBHPS), established by Mohandas Gandhi in Tamil Nadu in 1918.

The purpose of the Sabha was to propagate Hindi in southern India.