in the Devanagari script used for writing the official Hindi language — 260 million native speakers. Came from the original Brahmi script that was used to write the Indo-Aryan Sanskrit language, with early universities formed at Taxila about 200BC, and Nalanda, and later at Vikramashila. However, minimal written records exist today prior to 1100AD. See further notes here
in the Perso-Arabic script used for writing Urdu — 65 million native speakers in India, 16 million (& more) in Pakistan. While just 8% of Pakistan speak Urdu as their mother tongue it is apparently spoken and understood by more than 80% Pakistanis. In Pakistan's largest city Karachi, a "melting-pot" of about 17 million inhabitants and numerous cultures, Urdu is apparently spoken by over 50% of the population.
It is a language that developed in India during the 16th century. When the Turkic conqueror Babur brought northern India under the rule of his Mughal (Mongol) army, the language became a version of royal Persian, perhaps as much as 70%, blended with Turkish and Arabic.
Its name is derived from the Turkic word "Ordu" meaning a "Horde or Army", and when the Emperor Shah Jahan built a new walled city in Delhi in 1639, the market close to the royal army fort was known as Urdu Bazar. About 1800 the British referred to the language as Urdu, subsequently declaring Hindi and Urdu to be two dialects in the one language, a Persian name — "Hindustani" — as both dialects tended to be mutually intelligible. In 1947, Urdu and English became official languages of Pakistan, however, to further complicate matters, the third language, Punjabi is the one most frequently spoken in Pakistan today.
in the Punjabi language — 122 million native speakers, about 30 million in India, over 90 million in Pakistan — having two scripts. India uses this Gurmukhi script designed by early Sikh gurus. Its chief centre is the Golden Temple in Amritsar completed in 1577.In Pakistan where a Perso-Arabic alphabet is employed by Muslims, it uses the Shahmukhi script that dates back to 500AD. The script differs from the Urdu alphabet by having four additional letters.
in the Gujarati language and script is used by the Gujarat people — 49 million native speakers — in western India. Spoken by Mahatma Ghandi.
in the Bengali language and script — 300 million native speakers — is used in Bangladesh.
in the Telugu language and script — 74 million native speakers — is used in South-east India.
in the Tamil language and script — 70 million native speakers — and is pronounced as "India" in southern India.