He shifted to Bombay at the early age of fifteen and later joined J.J. School of Art and became a painter by profession.
Community in which he belonged, tried to establish that communities like Mahyavanshi (weavers) were actually Kshatriya caste, which had fallen from grace by writing several researched books starting with Mayavat Rajput Prakash in 1908 followed by several others.
These books written by him helped the cause of their caste to get Kshatriya status officially as Mahyavanshi by Government of India in 1939, in which other social and political leaders after his death in 1924, like Dr. Kanhaiyalal Munshi and Dr. Purshottam Solanki played the leading role.
[1][2] Makanji spent most of his wealth for the benefit of community and philanthropic works.
[2] Makanji in his writings stressed that the Mahyavanshi were the descendants of the Hattiavanshi King Arjuna, arguing that it was because of the slaughter of Parsuram they were relegated to a lower caste thus linking them with the Mayavat Rajputs, a branch of Parmara clan of Kshatriyas.