Regarded as the grand old man of Indian politics, he was the first Indian to be appointed as professor by the Elphinstone College. Later, he served as Professor in the University College, London. He promoted a number of institutions for the promotion of education, social welfare and philanthropy, and was editor of a famous weekly, Rast Goftar. He was also associated with other journals. After occupying public positions in Bombay, he went to England, from where he championed the cause of India.s economic and political regeneration and was elected to the House of Commons. He presided over the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress in 1906. His magnum opus, .Poverty and un-British Rule in India. became a Bible for the nationalist movement. He was a source of inspiration to Mahatma Gandhi.