STREET TALK: Last year's riots (above) have British authorities wary of a spillover

"When people hear of their killed kin, they'll take it out here." Deepak Shelat, Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham

Even in times of peace, it takes just a cricket match to trigger ugly scenes in the Asian community in Britain. And now, with war clouds hovering over the subcontinent, social tension is palpable miles away in the European nation.

Should war break out, authorities fear a backlash in the communities here. In fact, the authorities have acknowledged the tense situation prevailing in Asian neighbourhoods. "Everyone in the UK has a duty to ensure that current tensions between India and Pakistan do not upset normal good community relations between British South Asian communities," Home Secretary David Blunkett said recently after meeting with leaders of the British Asian community.

The Indian and Pakistani communities in Britain have a history of getting at each other. During the war in 1965, both Indians and Pakistanis in Britain went to their respective high commissions to enlist to fight for their country. At the time of the Babri Masjid demolition in India, Hindu temples were attacked -mainly in north England-and Indian shop owners harassed in Bradford. During the Kargil conflict, too, the relationship between the two communities was tense. Little wonder then that this time, with a build up of over a million soldiers along the border, the authorities are doing all they can to keep the situation calm.

Commission for Racial Equality chief, Gurubux Singh, reiterates: "We remain confident that Britain's Asian community is well established in the UK and that the members of the communities will not let these events damage race relations here."

However, the tension is being felt even by 21-year-olds like Vishal Singh in Bradford. "When I recently entered a video shop, some people who were talking went all quiet," he recalls. "It made me feel uneasy. It was quite obvious they were talking about Kashmir because on seeing my kada and turban, they didn't want me to hear what they were discussing."

In Birmingham with its sizeable Indian and Pakistani communities, people avoid talking about Kashmir, says Deepak Shelat who works at the Chamber of Commerce. "People here know that the Kashmir issue will just blow up in their face if they talk. The topic only crops up behind closed doors in homes, mosques or other religious places," he says. But Shelat fears that if war breaks out in the subcontinent, there will be violent clashes in Britain as well. "When people will start getting news about their relatives and their near and dear ones killed in the war they will take it out on the other communities here," he predicts.

In towns with an equal proportion of Indians and Pakistanis, people are making an effort to maintain peace. But in areas where one community outnumbers the other, there are fears of attacks and retaliations.

Bradford, where the Pakistani community outnumbers the Indian one, is a flashpoint and so is Oldham. The Hindu-Muslim relationship in these areas deteriorated after the riots of 2001 as some Hindu and Sikh leaders sought to distance themselves from the Pakistanis who were reportedly involved in the violence. Resenting being lumped together as "Asians", the Indian community leaders pressured Asian radio station Sunrise Radio to drop the term and instead refer to the individual communities as "British Hindus" and "British Muslims" or "British Pakistanis".

With the World Hindu Council's (WHC) strong views on one side and the views of the Mirpuri Kashmiris on the other, passions among the two communities often run high. Hasmukh Shah of WHC says: "Did the Home Office take any action to apprehend those who attacked 26 Hindu temples in the UK in 1992 (Babri Masjid retaliation)? Did it issue a statement condemning attacks on British Hindus, their places of worship and businesses and even attacks on individuals? Did it compensate the loss of almost £8 million that occurred through acts of terrorism on the streets of British cities?"

Shah is convinced that clashes would happen once again in Bradford if war breaks out in the subcontinent. "War or no war, we are always attacked here," he says. But not everyone is belligerent. "We live in mutual harmony. We meet, socialise and rejoice in each other's joys and share our sorrows," says Brij Mohan Gupta, president of the Hindu Culture and Heritage Society and owner of an Indian restaurant, which is sandwiched between two Pakistani boutiques.

Leaders of the Pakistani community too have called for calm. "We would urge that no one engage in any sort of action against the Hindu community in Britain," says Inayat Bunglawala, a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain. "Our argument is with the Indian Government, not the ordinary people."

The sentiment strikes a chord on the streets of Birmingham, which has substantial minorities from both sides. But there is still a genuine fear that violence in Kashmir could spread to Britain. "If it kicks off in the subcontinent then I am sure we will see fighting here," says Saptarishi Ray, a British Asian journalist. "Even good friends will end up fighting each other," seconds Jazz Salim, who runs a shop in Wandsworth.

While views on Kashmir vary according to the person's ethnicity, the dispute has also revealed a generation gap in both communities. Among older people who were not born in Britain, the issue of Kashmir is very much alive. In mosques people have reportedly been told to boycott Indian goods and Jewish shops. Nisar Rashid, a bookshop owner in Manchester, says: "My 16-year-old daughter is not worried about what is happening in the subcontinent and we don't tell her anything. Why should she get involved?"

For many young British-Asians, it is a non issue. Pamela Premavrithan who just finished her final year in Manchester University, says, "We friends went out last night, clubbing. No one is talking about the problems in the subcontinent." Then adds: "When is the Bollywood show?"

Busy, cosmopolitan Asian youth have little time for the ancient politics of their parents. But the other Asian youth must be watched-those who lack the same level of education or economic opportunity, and are less engrossed in advancing their careers. When they see their fathers troubled and hear of relatives killed, the politics of the subcontinent may spill over to this island.

-Inputs by Nivek Oger