India considers itself ‘‘at war’’ with Pakistan over Kashmir, though there is no formal declaration of hostilities, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said here.‘‘When people ask me if there will there be a war between India and Pakistan they are obviously referring to a declared war like that happened in 1971 or 1965. But for India, we are at war,’’ he told Britain’s Channel Four Television.He said there is no point in resuming talks with Pakistan until cross-border terrorism is put to an end. ‘‘Cross-border terrorism is still considerable, although there has been some reduction because of international pressure on Pakistan.’’‘‘There are other components of cross-border terrorism — training of terrorists, financing them, providing arms to them, letting terrorist camps to continue to function on Pakistani soil.’’As Advani unveiled a bronze-bust of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the first home minister of independent India, at the India House here yesterday evening, a group of 20 activists of the South Asia Solidarity, Council of Indian Muslims in UK and South Asia Watch held a protest demonstration outside the House, raising slogans against Advani, holding him and BJP responsible for the Gujarat riots.Advani met a delegation of leaders of the Gujarati Muslim community at the High Commissioner’s residence and assured them that the situation in the state is under control and rehabilitation near-complete.Paying tributes to Patel yesterday, Advani said, his achievements in integrating the country after Partition was nothing short of a miracle. ‘‘It will be a travesty of truth to describe him as anti-Muslim.”Meanwhile, Modi, referring to reports of Indian Muslims objecting to Advani calling Sardar Patel a ‘‘Hinduvta leader’’ in London, said it exposed the fundamentalism of those who claim to be Indian Muslims settled in London. ‘‘If they want to be identified as Indian Muslims, they should observe self-restraint in words and deeds,’’ Modi said.
