He was the first Indo-Mauritian to become a member of the ruling Council, which was an early form of modern-day National Assembly or Parliament of Mauritius.
His father was Gnanon Arlanda who had migrated from Pondicherry, India to Mauritius when the island was under French colonial rule before 1810.
[citation needed] Following Sir Virgile Naz's recommendation Governor John Pope Hennessy nominated Gnanadicarayen Arlanda as the first Indo-Mauritian member of the ruling Council in 1886.
However the influential sugar oligarchy had supported Arlanda's rival Emile Sandapa who was also of Indian origins.
The new Constitution created both nominated and elected positions in the Council primarily for the white and fair-skinned Creole elite who owned real estate; allowance started to be made to represent the growing Indo-Mauritian populace.