[4] Invoking the ideologies of Periyar, he urged Nadars to advocate Self-Respect marriages and inter-caste dining.

[citation needed] Acknowledging the agitation's popular support, Lord Erskine, the then Governor of Madras wrote to Viceroy Linlithgow in July 1938 that "Compulsory Hindi has been the cause of great trouble in this province and is certainly contrary to the wishes of the bulk of the population..."[citation needed] Nadar also worked for the upliftment of Dalits and Tiyyas, and for other social causes.

Moreover, the social reform measures such as the Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act of 1939 introduced by the Indian National Congress government of C. Rajagopalachari and the rise of the Indian National Congress leader K. Kamaraj within the ranks of the Nadar community triggered Soundarapandian Nadar's political decline.

The bronze statue was sculpted by Nagappa Jagannathan and unveiled by the government of Kalaignar Karunanidhi in the presence of Thiru Sivandi Adathinar.

He is referred to as "the uncrowned king of the Nadar community"[6] in many books and papers related to the Self Respect Movement.