Hyderabad, Jan. 12 -- Small is beautiful, but perhaps not in global geo-politics. Fragmenting a sizeable country with rich resources - a phenomenon called balkanization - is a part of the policy of imperialist forces ever since the 1800s. These tiny territories, upgraded into the status of sovereign countries, serve a military purpose.

The recognition of Somaliland (which broke away from Somalia in 1991) by Israel, the first and the only country in the world to do so, exposes the double standards of the western powers, which want to control the sea routes across the planet, especially in the crucial oil-producing and transporting regions. Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Panama Canal, Suez Canal, Malacca Strait, etc., are some of the cru...