Apparently, the government is going to war without any preparations whatsoever on the home ground. No nuclear shelter exists even for the VIPs. No security drill has been done and no sirens have been heard in Delhi. No instructions as to what to do if war really erupts have been published in the newspapers or publicized through the electronic media.

Generally speaking, people in the country have not been affected in any sense by the current war talk. It is only those living on the borders in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan who have felt the heat. Clashes between the nuclear rivals have lately reached their peak since the 1971 war across the border in Kashmir. At least 77 people are reported killed in the shelling that began two weeks ago.

In the Valley of Kashmir, life is normal and the marriage of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the traditional religious leader of the Kashmiri Muslims, will take place as planned on June 9.

Tens of thousands of border residents have evacuated to safer places where they are lodged in schools and other similar buildings. Those who refused to move out are facing miseries of a different kind day in and day out, as mutual shelling continues with long-distance artillery. The soldiers who have stayed put for six months and more, exposed under unbearable heat, are worn out and suffer from fatigue.

Besides border residents, the only other victims of this "war" are foreigners, especially tourists currently visiting India. After a spate of advisories from their respective countries, panic-stricken tourists started to flee the country in droves using any possible flight.

But some foreigners refused to budge. "A war may take place after all. Yet I think this is political maneuvering. Both countries are making big noise for political gains. Nobody for sure wants a nuclear war," says Marco, an Australian tourist who refused to cut short his stay despite an advisory from his country.

Indians who want to travel abroad are suffering, since foreign missions are going slow as a result of staff reduction. Indian hotels, on the other hand, are reporting wholesale cancellation of bookings. As much as 50 percent of guests from western countries have cancelled their plans to visit India for business or pleasure.

"The world is not foolish enough to let a war erupt, especially a nuclear one. I love India and I am not running away," says an American tourist.

Some of the largest MNCs operating in India remain unperturbed. For them it's business as usual. Bruce W, an expatriate businessman, said: "Based on my understanding of the situation, nuclear exchange will not take place at all. Considering the interest of the international community in this issue, we expect an eventual de-escalation of the situation. I am not running away."

Meanwhile, the message inferred from the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building in Central Asia at Kazakhstan’s business capital Almaty is that both India and Pakistan -- after stepping up the war rhetoric -- now want to honorably wriggle out.