Editing Urdu (section)

== Cultural identity ==
{{Further|Hindi–Urdu controversy}}

=== 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 identity in the face of colonial rule.<ref name="Ahmad-2008" /> As Hindi separated from Hindustani to create a distinct spiritual identity, Urdu was employed to create a definitive Islamic identity for the Muslim population in India.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rahman|first=Tariq|date=1997|title=The Urdu-English Controversy in Pakistan|journal=Modern Asian Studies|volume=31|pages=177–207|via=National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Qu.aid-i-Az.am University|doi=10.1017/S0026749X00016978|s2cid=144261554}}</ref> Urdu's use was not confined only to northern India – it had been used as a literary medium for Indian writers from the Bombay Presidency, Bengal, Orissa Province, and Tamil Nadu as well.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ṭamil Nāḍū men̲ Urdū g̲h̲azal kī naʼī purānī simten̲ |url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=2015305807&searchType=1&permalink=y |access-date=13 September 2020}}</ref>

As Urdu and Hindi became means of religious and social construction for Muslims and Hindus respectively, each register developed its own script. According to Islamic tradition, [[Arabic]], the language of [[Muhammad]] and the [[Qur'an]], holds spiritual significance and power.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Islam: an introduction|url=https://archive.org/details/islamintroductio0000schi|url-access=registration|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|publisher=State U of New York Press|year=1992|location=Albany, New York|isbn=9780585088594}}</ref> Because Urdu was intentioned as means of unification for Muslims in Northern India and later Pakistan, it adopted a modified Perso-Arabic script.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ahmad|first=Rizwan|date=2011|title=Urdu in Devanagari: Shifting orthographic practices and Muslim identity in Delhi|url=http://qspace.qu.edu.qa/bitstream/10576/10736/3/LIS%20paper%20proof.pdf|journal=Language in Society|volume=40|issue=3|pages=259–284|doi=10.1017/s0047404511000182|hdl=10576/10736|s2cid=55975387|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Ahmad-2008" />

=== Pakistan ===
Urdu continued its role in developing a national identity of the country, as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was established with the intent to construct a homeland for the Muslims of Colonial India. Several languages and dialects spoken throughout the regions of Pakistan produced an imminent need for a uniting language. Urdu was chosen as a symbol of unity for the new [[Dominion of Pakistan]] in 1947, because it had already served as a ''lingua franca'' among Muslims in north and northwest of [[British Indian Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Belkacem |first=Belmekki |title=From a Lingua Franca to a Communal Language: The Islamicization of Urdu in British India |url=https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=nysl_nc_stlpcp&sid=googleScholar&da=true&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fi.do%3Fid%3DGALE%257CA688886759%26sid%3DgoogleScholar%26v%3D2.1%26it%3Dr%26linkaccess%3Dabs%26issn%3D01234471%26p%3DIFME%26sw%3Dw%26userGroupName%3Dnysl_nc_stlpcp&prodId=IFME |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=galeapps.gale.com}}</ref> Urdu is also seen as a repertory for the [[Culture of Pakistan|cultural]] and social heritage of Pakistan.<ref name="zia2">Zia, Khaver (1999), [http://www.cicc.or.jp/english/hyoujyunka/mlit4/7-10Pakistan/Pakistan2.html "A Survey of Standardisation in Urdu". 4th Symposium on Multilingual Information Processing, (MLIT-4)], [[Yangon]], Myanmar. CICC, Japan. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106034453/http://www.cicc.or.jp/english/hyoujyunka/mlit4/7-10Pakistan/Pakistan2.html|date=6 January 2007}}.</ref>

While Urdu and Islam together played important roles in developing the national identity of Pakistan, disputes in the 1950s (particularly those in [[East Pakistan]], where [[Bengali language|Bengali]] was the dominant language), challenged the idea of Urdu as a national symbol and its practicality as the ''lingua franca''. The significance of Urdu as a national symbol was downplayed by these disputes when English and Bengali were also accepted as official languages in the former East Pakistan (now [[Bangladesh]]).<ref>{{cite news |title=Urdu in Bangladesh |url=http://www.dawn.com/2002/09/11/fea.htm |work=Dawn |date=11 September 2002}}</ref>