Born on 15th April 1862 in Morbi (Saurashtra), Sir Prabhashankar was the only son of Dalpatram Hariram Bhatt and Motibai Dalpatram Bhatt. His father was a small-time caretaker of ancestral and family lands. Having lost his mother at the very tender age of one and a half years, he was in the care of his paternal grandparents in his formative years.

Sir Prabhashankar was educated in the surrounding towns of Morbi and Rajkot. However, unable to complete his higher education in medicine due to ill health, he started his career as a medical compounder in Rajkumar college Rajkot, and then as a salaried doctor in Morbi. He was then appointed a companion cum tutor to prince Bhavsinghji of Bhavnagar state who was studying in Rajkumar College, Rajkot, thus beginning a life-long association with the royal family of Bhavnagar.

During the period of tutorship prince, Bhavsinhji developed a fondness for Sir Pattani and sought his advice on important matters. In 1896, when Maharaja Takhtasinhji, father of Bhavsinhji died an untimely death and Bhavsinhji ascended the throne, he summoned Prabhashankar Pattani to take over the administration of Bhavnagar as Diwan. However, Prabhashankar did not want to oust the incumbent prime minister and was also serving Waghji Thakor of Morbi. After several deliberations, Maharaja Bhavsinhji II requested Waghji Thakor of Morbi state to relieve Prabhashankar Pattani and entrust him to his care. Prabhashankar was appointed to a new post, ‘Personal Secretary to the Maharaja’ which was, created in Bhavsinhji’s administration. He went on to serve as Hajur secretary and eventually the Diwan of Bhavnagar state in 1902, a position he held for ten years.

On 16th July 1919, King Bhavsinhji II of Bhavnagar passed away, leaving behind his heir apparent, his son Krishnakumarsinhji who was only seven and a half years old and, two younger princes. The British Government appointed a Council of Administration and as its chief, appointed Sir Pattani.

Sir Prabhashankar’s forthrightness, diplomacy and excellent character were noticed by the British Government in India, who, in 1909, bestowed upon him the title 'Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire' (CIE).

In 1912, in December, he was appointed to the Bombay Governor Council as a Member, necessitating him to resign from the position of Diwan of Bhavnagar. Sir Pattani served the Bombay Governor Council for three years. During his tenure, in June 1915, he was awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE).

Sir Prabhashankar Pattani retired from the Bombay Governor Council in August 1915 and took up different roles of authority in Gujarat state, culminating in him being appointed to the Legislative Council of India as an Additional Officer. He went on to serve as Secretary for State of India in England.

In 1930-31, the British organised the Round Table Conference in England; Sir Pattani was chosen to represent the princely states. In 1932, Sir Prabhashankar went to Geneva to attend the 13th gathering of the League of Nations.

Sir Prabhashankar Pattani and Mohandas Gandhi were closely associated since Gandhi was in South Africa. Their relationship strengthened after Gandhi returned to India in 1915, enabling Sir Pattani to persuade Gandhi to attend the 2nd Round Table Conference in London on Indo-British affairs. He believed that Gandhiji was the true voice of India that could drive the freedom movement.

Sir Pattani’s close association with Gandhi and his power to influence Gandhi to attend the 2nd Round Table Conference in England, is proof of Sir Pattani’s overarching influence in determining the state of national politics.

Sir Prabhashankar Pattani finds an important place in the history of economic reforms of pre-independent India. He is remembered for his Debt Redemption Scheme for farmers which is one of the foremost schemes for economic upliftment of farmers in pre-independent India.

In the years 1899-1900, when the country reeled under drought, often referred to as the ‘chappaniyo’, the failure of monsoon had affected a large part of the Indian subcontinent, leading to a high mortality rate and widespread poverty. As per the scheme designed by Sir Pattani, the State paid out of its treasury Rs 20,59,000 and wrote off Rs 33 lakhs of land revenue arrears, setting the overburdened peasants of Bhavnagar State free from their debt. Maharaja Bhavsinhji, the young ruler of Bhavnagar was known for his kindness and broad perspective, especially concerning the state of the farmers and peasants. He believed that for the progress of the State, it was necessary for the farmers to be free of debt and that the State would be responsible for ensuring it. While the shahukars, or the sowkars, as known by the British, were sceptical about the viability of the scheme, Sir Pattani was firm in his belief that peasantry, the pride of a country, once destroyed, cannot be resuscitated again.

The debt redemption scheme was implemented with the help of the gram panchayats, and the money for the scheme was transferred to the village improvement fund, to eliminate the presence of money lenders. The objective of the scheme, along with debt redemption, was also to create welfare for the peasants by improving their living conditions and improving the condition of their cattle, along with a comprehensive re-hauling of class and caste prejudices that existed in the State.

While this is just one instance of Sir Pattani’s exceptional foresight, several such examples reflect his exceptional capacity as a statesman. He was also a pioneer in the establishment of Gram panchayats. Historian Ross Bassett, in his book The Technological Indian, has documented Sir Pattani’s role in providing scholarships for Indian students to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States of America. Between 1930 and 1940, thirty-two Indians were awarded degrees by MIT, and fifteen of these degrees went to people from Gujarat, most from Bhavnagar. A small princely state with less than 2 per cent of India’s population was responsible for almost 50 per cent of the degrees awarded by MIT to Indian students. This, along with other reforms such as promoting the banking system, and facilitating active trade and commerce through Bhavnagar port, placed Sir Pattani among the outstanding administrators of the princely state of India.

Sir Prabhashankar Pattani retired from Bhavnagar State Council in December 1937 and accepted the responsibility of a Recovery officer to fulfil Maharaja Krishnakumar’s desire - which was to perpetuate Sir Pattani’s knowledge and experience amongst his staff of recovery department on matters such as Removal of Farmers’ debt ,Gram Panchayats, Construction of new wells and deepening of old wells, AnimalHusbandry, Village Industries etc. While his son, Anantrai Pattani was appointed Diwan in the new state administration of Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji.

Sir Pattani was due to participate in Haripura Congress along with Gandhiji on 16th February 1938 (since he was unable to undertake either railway or motor journey due to ill health; Shri Vallabhbhai Patel and a resident of Haripura and Executive Engineer of Surat Mr. Bhanushankar Sundarji Vyas had explored the possibility of using an aircraft for his travel). However, his health took a turn for the worst and he passed away at 09:03hours on 16th February 1938 at the Inspection Bungalow in Shihor.