Mallappa was born in 1905 in a Kannada Kuruba Gowda community[3] and joined the Indian National Congress in 1935 following a visit to Sabarmati Ashram along with his associate Janardhana Desai.
He took an interest in Gandhian constructive activities and was the agent for the sale of cotton and woollen khadi and the popularisation of Hindi.
[12] He was defeated by Vidyadhar Guruji Sayanna, from Gurmitkal in 1962 Mysore Legislative Assembly elections.
He represented the Hyderabad State Congress in the August 1942 Mumbai session of the party where the Quit India call was given.
[15] Mallappa, aged 99 years, died at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bangalore on 24 October 2004 after a prolonged illness.
[16][17] On 20 February 2017 Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the CM of Karnataka Siddaramaiah has accepted his demand to build a memorial for Mallappa in Yadgir.