In 1906, he went to England for higher education at the King's College, Cambridge and made an unsuccessful attempt[4] at the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination.

[4] He entered politics under the inspiring guidance of Lala Lajpat Rai joined the Congress and held various important offices in the party.

This group headed by Santanam thought it necessary to find new channels for expression of their creative energy, closely aligned to the service of the people.

Lala Lajpat Rai, suggested the formation of a life insurance institution which was eminently suited for rendering social service.

Though his request for an impartial bench was rejected, he managed to inform Sir C. Sankaran Nair, a member of the Viceroy's Council, of the atrocities being committed under guise of martial law.

[7] The report was a model of meticulous documentation and its historic publication chronicled what was later termed by Gandhi to be the "last nail in the coffin of the British Empire.

He formed an association of the displaced insurers, organised relief, moved the authorities to afford facilities for removing the records and properties from Pakistan and actively helped the offices in their resettlement.