Mehrunnisa Dalwai (87), noted social activist and author, and the wife of one of modern Maharashtra’s most remarkable and formidable social reformers, Hamid Dalwai, passed away at her residence here on Thursday. She was born in Pune on May 25, 1930.
Hamid, the author of the classic, Indhan (published 1965), worked tirelessly to uplift the status of women within the Islamic religion. He found an ideal soul-mate and fellow crusader in Ms. Dalwai, and they married in 1956. Mr. Dalwai was one of the country’s most remarkable agents of social change. He took a courageous stand against Brahminicial Hinduism and fanatical Islamism. Ms. Dalwai’s too contributed to liberalise the Muslim community.
Ms. Dalwai had a traditional Urdu education, yet mastered the ability to speak and write in chaste Marathi. Her autobiography, Mi bharoon paavle aahe , bears testament to that skill.
She adhered to the strong socialist beliefs of her husband, who was part of the Rashtra Seva Dal, the youth wing of the Socialist Party. He had also later associated himself with the eminent socialist, Ram Manohar Lohia. Hamid succumbed to progressive kidney failure in 1977, aged 44.
Ms. Dalwai was at her husband’s side as the family battled threats to their lives while striving to modernise and pare away the backwardness of the minority community. Following her husband’s death, she immersed herself in the working of the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal, the reformist organisation in Pune founded by Mr. Dalwai. It focussed on resolving problems faced by the community and charting its history and socio-cultural transformation. Ms. Dalwai remained the president of the organisation for several decades.
