Hindustani people

Hindustani people are a panethnicity primarily living in the Hindi belt region of India, which is located in the Gangetic Plain of North India, between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas, identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds.

Traditionally, Hindustani or Hindavi identity is primarily linguistic with Hindustanis or Hindavis being those who have the Hindustani language (Hindi/Urdu) and in a broader sense a variety of Hindi as their primary language, mainly residing in the present-day Indian States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand. The original Urdu speaking Muhajir people (immigrants) of Pakistan are from the same Hindustani roots.

The Hindustani or Hindavi people seem to be of ethnolinguistic origin rather than an ethnic group. Some 19th century scholars believed them to be descendants of the lost tribes of Israel.