Manoharji Diwan (Shri Manohar Diwan, who died on Febr 15, 1980) joined the Gandhi movement early. When Mahatma Gandhi visited the Cuttack Leprosy Home in 1925 he realized the need to act. Gandhi set an example of personal involvement by nursing the great Sanskrit scholar Parchure Shastri, who suffered from leprosy. The reply came from Manohar Diwan who later established the first national leprosy institution at Dattapur, near Wardha, in 1936, not far from Sevagram.

Manoharji Diwan was one of the first disciples of Vinoba Bhave. Shri Manohar advocated that if we are truthful and want to serve the people, the miserable and neglected leprosy victims deserve our full sympathy and attention most. He then took to devote his entire life in service to the leprosy patients.