In 1913 he went to the South Africa to take part in the civil rights movement that was going on there under Gandhi’s leadership and on the suggestions from Gokhale, the Indian leader and Henry Pollock. It was how Andrews met Gandhi for the first time. Subsequently, Gandhi was ‘Mohan’ for Andrews and the latter ‘Charlie’ for the former. Andrews had a special capacity to advance effective arguments in any case and this helped a lot in getting some of the brutal South African laws amended to the advantage of the Indians there.  After returning to India, he took up a teacher’s job with Shantiniketan in Calcutta. Then he proceeded to Fiji to work with the Indians there for their causes and it was the ill-treated Indians there who called him ‘Deenabandhu’. He continued with his work in Shantiniketan and helped in getting Tagore’s works translated into English. He used to accompany Tagore in his several journeys and one such was the trip to Japan (1916).

Andrews rushed to Jalianwallahbag, on hearing about the massacre there, but the authorities prohibited his entering the town. He flouted the prohibition and entered the town and was arrested. This infuriated Andrews and he joined the Indian movement for its independence. He participated in Gandhi’s programs and helped him in the publishing of ‘Young India’.

Many Indians felt that Andrews was a British spy and even more Britons thought that he was a cheat and a traitor, demanding that he be tried for treason. Andrews played the crucial role in the founding of the All India Trade Union Congress and was its first president (1925-26), and was re-elected for one more term. He fell ill in 1939 and in March the same year, he passed away in Calcutta. How India can be Free, Indian Independence, The Immediate Need, the Indian Problem and claim for Independence, and Within or Without the British Empire were some of the books he authored.