Punjabi is the native language of about 130 million people, primarily in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, and is the 10th most spoken language globally. It serves as the religious language of Sikhs and has various dialects, with significant literary contributions throughout its history, especially during the Mughal and British Raj periods. Punjabi is written in different scripts, with Gurmukhi used in India and Shahmukhī in Pakistan.