A minister in the Union cabinet, he was for a long time a leading advocate and a writer of eminence in Gujarati, promoting the cause of its language and literature. Actively associated with the Congress, he was arrested for his political activities during British rule. He was home minister in the first Congress government in Bombay and later India.s Minister for Agriculture. He founded the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (of which he earned the title Kulapati) and many other cultural and secular bodies. He was Founder Vice-President of the Swatantra Party.