Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule language, the status and cultural heritage of which are recognised by the See more

There are over 100 million native speakers of Urdu in India and Pakistan together: there were 50.8 million Urdu speakers in India (4.34% of the total population) as per the 2011 census; and … See more

Pakistan
Urdu is the sole national, and one of the two official languages of Pakistan (along with English). It is … See more

Urdu became a literary language in the 18th century and two similar standard forms came into existence in Delhi and Lucknow. Since the partition of India in 1947, a third standard has arisen in the Pakistani city of Karachi. Deccani, an older form used in See more

The name Urdu was first used by the poet Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi around 1780 for Hindustani language, even though he himself also used … See more

Origins
Urdu, like Hindi, is a form of Hindustani language. Some linguists have suggested that the earliest forms of Urdu evolved from the medieval … See more

Colonial India
Religious and social atmospheres in early nineteenth century India played a significant role in the development of the Urdu register. Hindi became the distinct register spoken by those who sought to construct a Hindu … See more