Hamid Dalwai has been called a Muslim modernizer who relentlessly worked towards promoting reason and justice among Muslims. Historian Ram Guha writes, '[He] worked tirelessly to get Muslims to shed their social and religious prejudices. The pursuit of gender equality was of pre-eminent importance to him; and he waged a long battle against triple talaq.' Born in a lower-middle-class family in rural Maharashtra in 1932, Dalwai was a gifted writer who broke on to the Marathi literary scene as a highly promising writer. His novel Indhan is now recognized as a significant contribution to Marathi literature. Dalwai was attracted by the ideas of Ram Manohar Lohia and became an active member of the Socialist Party. Dalwai's writing displayed the same passion and forthrightness, eloquence and commitment, which informed all his actions as a social worker.