NEW DELHI, Nov. 29—Indian officials said tonight that the battle between Indian and Pakistani forces in the strategic Hilli area of East Pakistan is now in its third day and “is still going on”—making it the longest clash so far in the growing military crisis on the sub continent.

At a briefing here tonight, an Indian spokesman said that Pakistani forces mounted a counterattack yesterday against Indian troops who had taken “defensive action” Saturday and entered East Pakistan to try to stop Pakistani shelling of the Indian border town of Balurghat, not far from Hilli.

[Pakistan has proposed to Secretary General Thant that United Nations observers be stationed on the Pakistani side of the India‐Pakistan border to report on border violations. Page 5.]

[In Washington, the State Department said that President Nixon had sent messages to India, Pakistan and the Soviet Union urging an end to the fighting. Deputy Premier Li Hsien‐nien of China condemned India and reaffirmed Peking's support for Pakistan in a statement made public by Hsinhua, the Chinese press agency. Page 3.]

At least 22 civilians have been killed and 60 seriously wounded by the shelling of Balurghat, according to Indian reports.

Indians List Casualties

The Indian spokesman said that in the continuing battle, being fought about 185 miles north of Calcutta, 80 Pakistani and 15 Indians had been killed or wounded.

The Indians say that in a briefer battle near Hilli last week, the casualty toll was 80 Pakistanis and 20 Indians.

The town of Hilli, whose 30,000 inhabitants have reportedly fled to safer areas, straddles the border, three quarters in India's West Bengal state and one‐quarter in East Pakistan. The area's strategic importance lies not in the town but in its railway depot, which is a few miles inside East Pakistan. This rail head is the main communications link between the north west corner of East Pakistan and the city of Jessore, a key Pakistani‐held military base about 150 miles to the south.

The Jessore area has been under attack for several days by the Bengali insurgents, who are fighting, with Indian support, for the independence of East Pakistan.

Should the Pakistanis lose the Hilli railhead, their troops in the region would be unable to draw on Jessore for reinforcements and supplies, and it is possible that the entire north west section, making up the Dinajpur and Rangpur Districts, would fall to the insurgents. These districts represent about one ‐ tenth of all East Pakistan, which perhaps explains why the Pakistanis are fighting so hard to hold the railhead.

The Indian spokesman at the briefing said that the Pakistanis had lost another tank in the Balurghat‐Hilli fighting yesterday, bringing to 19 the number the Indians say they have destroyed or captured in the three “self‐defense” intrusions into East Pakistan that they have acknowledged. The first of these border crossings occurred eight days ago at Boyra, about 60 miles northeast of Calcutta. The other two have been in the Balurghat‐Hilli area.

Asked how far inside East Pakistan the latest battle was taking place, the Indian spokes man first said “a few miles,” then quickly amended it to “two or three miles.”

Until last week, the Indian Government had denied that its troops were crossing into East Pakistan to engage the Pakistanis, although independent sources had confirmed several such intrusions.

On Wednesday, the Government acknowledged the Boyra border‐crossing and said that Indian troops had new orders under which they could cross the border “in self‐defense” situations.

Yesterday, in a speech in Calcutta, Defense Minister Jagjivan Ram said that the troops now had permission to move as deep into East Pakistan as the range of the Pakistani guns firing on them. This could be as deep as 15 to 20 miles if the guns were long‐range artillery, which would bring some key Pakistani strongholds within the reach of Indian attacks.

Today the briefing spokes man elaborated on conditions that warranted “self‐defense” retaliation. Indian troops would cross the border, he said, “whenever the life or property of our citizens or troops are in danger or the integrity of our borders is threatened.” He said the troops would stay in Pakistani territory until the threat has been removed.

The spokesman, in an unsolicited statement, said that Pakistan's recent behavior indicated that the efforts “by other countries” to persuade President Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan to reach a political settlement with the elected leaders of East Pakistan “have obviously failed.”

“He has only been trying to make us move our troops back from the borders to allow him to carry on his devastation of Bangla Desh [Bengal Nation] even more freely than he has so far,” the spokesman said.

The Pakistani army has been trying since March to crush the Bengali autonomy movement in East Pakistan. Independent observers say the army has killed tens of thousands of civilians.