Persian language in the Indian subcontinent

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Indian Persian, or Indo-Persian, was the historical variety of Persian used as an official language of administration across much of the Indian subcontinent. It has no surviving indigenous native-speaking community today. The language was brought into South Asia by various Turco-Persianate and Afghan empires and was preserved and patronized by local Indian dynasties from the 11th century, such as the Sayyid dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Mughal dynasty, Gujarat sultanate, Bengal sultanate, Bahmani sultanate, and the Deccan sultanates. Initially it was used by Muslim dynasties of India but later started being used by non-Muslim empires too. For example, the Sikh Empire, Persian held official status in the court and the administration within these empires. It largely replaced Sanskrit as the language of politics, literature, education, and social status in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The spread of Persian closely followed the political and religious growth of...

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