Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan and six Indian states, with about 70 million native speakers. Urdu is a part of the Hindustani language family, and is mutually intelligible with Hindi. Using the Nastaliq style of the Persian alphabet, Urdu is traditionally associated with the Muslim population of the region, while Hindi (using the Devangari script) is connected with the Hindu community. Visitors to Islamic holy cities, such as Mecca, will find signage in Arabic, Urdu,...