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Born in 1857 in modern-day Gujarat, Shyamji Krishna Varma completed his education in India, before moving on to teach Sanskrit at the Oxford University.

In 1905 he founded the India House and The Indian Sociologist, which rapidly developed as an organised meeting point for radical nationalists among Indian students in Britain at the time and one of the most prominent centres for revolutionary Indian nationalism outside India. Krishna Varma moved to Paris in 1907, avoiding prosecution.The monthly Indian Sociologist became an outlet for nationalist ideas and through the Indian Home Rule Society, he criticised the British rule in India. Varma, who became the first President of Bombay Arya Samaj, was an admirer of Dayanand Saraswati, and he inspired Veer Savarkar who was a member of India House in London. Verma also served as the Divan of a number of states in India.

A memorial called Kranti Teerth dedicated to him was built and inaugurated in 2010 near Mandvi. Spread over 52 acres, the memorial complex houses a replica of India House building at Highgate along with statues of Shyamji Krishna Varma and his wife. Urns containing Krishna Verma's ashes, those of his wife, and a gallery dedicated to earlier activists of Indian independence movement is housed within the memorial.