The name of the Urdu language is derived from “Ordu”, a Turkish work, which means a military camp. Urdu represents a happy blending of Arabic and Persian with an Indian language. It would be difficult to make definite statement about the place of its origin which is claimed by the Punjab, Sind and North-Western Frontier Provinces. It is also not easy to assign any definite date to its origin. It has been claimed that the language which is called Urdu now was in use and spoken in the fourteenth century since the time of Amir Khusraw. It is almost the same language which is called Dakhini in the Deccan and it would be fairly correct to state that both Urdu and Dakhni were in use in Northern India and the Deccan respectively around 1700 A.D.
Urdu is written in Persian script, no doubt, but its basis were the dialects of Sauraseni Prakrit. Its grammatical base and verbs are of the Indian language, for which a large number of Hindus became interest in it. There is no denying the fact that Urdu Language and Literature promoted Hindu-Muslim social relations. With surprising rapidity, it became the means of intercommunication between them in all classes of society in the 18th century. Both Hindus and Muslims made joint efforts in enriching its dimensions. It is their common heritage and a symbol of their cultural harmony.
In the 18th century the number of Hindu poets who composed in Urdu was not large, but it was so in the 19th and the twentieth century’s. The Urdu poets have been criticized by a modern writer for using highly Persianised language and drawing their themes, similes, metaphors, imageries and thought from Persian poetry but it cannot apply to, at least, three poets i.e. Nazir Akbarabadi (1740-1830), Jwala Prasad ‘Barq” and Brij Narayan ‘Chakbast’ whose poems are Indian in every respect, composed in beautiful Urdu. During the 19th century several Hindu fiction writers of Urdu far surpassed the Muslims, which prove their genuine love for this language. One of them was Munshi Prem Chand whose centenary is being celebrated in India this year. Since the political power of the Muslims, was completely eclipsed, their knowledge of Urdu would not have helped them in obtaining state employment.
A modern scholar has correctly remarked: “Almost every work in Indo-Persian literature contains large number of words of Indian origin, and thousands of Persian words became naturalized in every Indian vernacular language. This mingling of Persian, Arabic and Turkish words and ideas with languages and concepts of Sanskrit origin is extremely interesting from the philological point of views, and this co-ordination of the unknowns resulted in the origin of the beautiful Urdu language. That language is itself symbolized the reconciliation of the hitherto irreconcilable and mutually hostile types of civilizations represented by Hinduism and Islam.
Besides literature, the Muslims have contributed to the development of all branches of fine arts in India especially to Indian music, painting and architecture and influenced them.