NEW DELHI, Oct. 23—Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, on the eve of her departure on three‐week foreign tour called on the Indian people tonight to “stand united” and alert be cause “our country is facing danger.”

In a broadcast to the nation at a time when the armies of India and Pakistan are confronting each other across their borders, Mrs. Gandhi said: “One cannot leave with a light heart at such a moment. Yet after much thought, I decided to undertake the journey.”

Noting that the invitations from the Western countries she will visit were of long standing she said it seemed important at this critical moment to meet leaders of other nations “to put to them the reality of our situation.”

To Visit U.S. and Britain

The 53‐year‐old Prime Minister leaves tomorrow on a trip that will take her to six Western countries including the United States and Britain.

The Indian‐Pakistani military confrontation which has apparently intensified over the last few weeks is an outgrowth of the crisis in East Pakistan. Since March Pakistani troops have been trying to crush the Bengali independence movement there.

The military activity has sent more than nine million East Pakistani refugees fleeing across the border into India according to Indian estimates placing a severe burden on the already strained economy and fragile social fabric there. The Indians have been assisting the Bengali insurgents in their guerrilla war against the Pakistani Army and serious border incidents involving Indian and Pakistani troops have become increasingly frequent.

Cautions Against Haste

“The very gravity of the situation,” Mrs. Gandhi said in her four‐minute broadcast, “demands that we do not speak or act in anger or in haste. It is a time for alertness not only of our defense forces but of all our people.”

Mrs. Gandhi's speech never mentioned Pakistan by name and did not use the word “war.”

Last week, the Pakistani President, Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan in a speech accused India of “feverish military preparations” and warned New Delhi that his armed forces “are fully prepared to defend every inch of the sacred soil of Pakistan, with complete faith in the righteousness of their cause and trust in the help of Allah.”

Soviet Sends Official

Some diplomatic observers here think the threat of war may have receded somewhat in the last few days, as the major powers—including the United States and the Soviet Union—have urged restraint on both sides. The Russians yesterday rushed a Deputy Foreign Minister, Nikolai P Firyubin to New Delhi presumably to caution their Indian allies against doing anything rash.

In her broadcast delivered in an unemotional tone Mrs. Gandhi asked her people to “sink all differences of party and religion,” and added: “My confidence in the solidarity and the sense of responsibility of the Indian people enables me to go on this journey.”

She urged the Indian people to “guard against all that weakens our will and said “rumors which create doubt must be scotched.”

Mrs. Gandhi said that despite the refugee burden and “the crisis on our borders,” her Government was determined to carry out its socialist programs “to help the landless and the unemployed.”