Urdu-speaking people
Urdu-speaking people are a pan Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of diverse communities spread across South Asia, that speak Urdu as their native language. The vast majority of native Urdu-speakers are Urdu Belt Muslims, followed by the Deccani people of Southern India, and the Muhajir people of Pakistan. Although the majority of Urdu-speakers reside in Pakistan, where Urdu is the national and official language, most speakers who use Urdu as their native tongue live in India, where it is one of 22 official languages.
The Urdu-speaking community is also present in other parts of South Asia with a historical Muslim presence, such as the Bihari community and Dhakaiya of Old Dhaka in Bangladesh, the Urdu-speaking members of the Madheshi community in Nepal, some Muslims in Sri Lanka, and a section of Burmese Indians. In addition, there are Urdu-speakers present amongst the South Asian diaspora, most notably in the Middle East, North America, Europe, the Caribbean region, Africa, Southeast Asia and Oceania. Other communities, most notably the Punjabi elite of Pakistan, have adopted Urdu as a mother-tongue and identify with both an Urdu-speaker as well as Punjabi identity.
