Mallik is noted as a nationalist intellectual who was one of the co-founders of the Bengal National College, of which he was the principal financial supporter.

[2] He returned from England before completing his university studies,[2] and immediately delved into the nationalist movement.

[5] Mallik's political activities earned him the ire of the Raj, and he was deported in 1908 in the wake of the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy.

[6] Mallik's nationalist work and generous support of the movement earned him the colloquial title of Raja from his grateful countrymen.

In independent India, Wellington Square, the site of his palatial residence, was renamed Raja Subodh Mallik Square, while the road housing Jadavpur University, which emerged from the Bengal National College, is now called Raja Subodh Chandra Mallik Road.