Mumbai: In downtown Worli, it is common to hear the strange greeting of 'Assalamu-Alaykum, Guruji' whenever an 80-year-old Muslim man steps out of his modest home. He is none other than renowned Sanskrit scholar Pandit Gulam Dastagir, who over six decades has impressed the Shankaracharyas, late prime minister Indira Gandhi, RSS leaders and Islamic scholars, all with equal elan.
Armed with a deep knowledge of both Islam and Sanskrit, Pandit Dastagir can speak with authority on any religious topic -- and earn their unabashed admiration.
Born in Chikhali village in Solapur district, Pandit Dastagir completed his schooling before joining a government Sanskrit institution.
"I was the only Muslim student in a class of around four dozen Brahmins. My Brahmin Guruji developed a special liking for me and encouraged me. I acquired my entire Sanskrit knowledge of the scriptures, Vedas and other texts there," Pandit Dastagir told IANS.
Around mid-1950s, he shifted to Mumbai and joined the Maratha Mandir Sansthan's Marathi-medium Worli High School as a Sanskrit teacher for all classes.
Two decades later, to comply with professional requirements, he appeared directly for a Master's degree in Sanskrit from Mysore University.
After the Emergency, when the Janata Party ruled India, Pandit Dastagir was suddenly targeted. "They suspected I was a namesake Muslim propagating the RSS and Jana Sangh ideology through Sanskrit. It was only after a long investigation that they were proved wrong," the man chuckled.
When Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, she summoned him and was surprised to discover that Pandit Dastagir was actually a 'Syedvanshi', or belonging to a clan considered the direct descendents of Prophet Mohammed.
"She met me several times and appreciated my knowledge and love for Sanskrit. In 1982, she told the education ministry to appoint me as a 'Rashtriya Sanskrit Pracharak'," Pandit Dastagir said.