He was a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, and served as Finance minister of the state for 26 years.
He was also a member of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament), elected from the Jammu–Poonch constituencey and the Udhampur constituency.
He joined Indian National Congress and was elected as General Secretary of the Student’s Union of Hindu College, Amritsar.
He came to Jammu after completing law and joined as a junior advocate to Lala Dina Nath Mahajan, a renowned Lawyer.
He along with Moti Ram Baigra of Udhampur started the movement against Begari system being perpetuated by the Raja of Chenani which forced him to abolish it.