He was born on the day of the Haj, or pilgrimage, in 1928 which prompted his parents to attach 'Hajji' to his first name, but he was also born with aposthia, which was seen as an even greater omen for a bright future and thus his name then became Muhammad Anwar Shaikh, with Anwar meaning radiant in the Arabic language. In his youth, Shaikh was an ardent believer of the Sunni branch of Islam his family devoutly practiced, especially his mother since she could recite a large part of the Qur'an from memory. During the violent days of the Partition of India, Shikha became involved with Muslim nationalist groups and fervorously participated in violent attacks they encouraged against non-Muslims.