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Sat 02 Feb 2007A tale of two coloniesCultural Studies:Ireland and India: what can they possibly have in common? One is very small, a tiny westerly island off the coast of Europe, the other occupies most of an Asian subcontinent. The population of one is 4.2 million, the other 1.1 billion. There are two national languages in Ireland, only one of which most of its citizens can speak fluently; there are 22 official languages in India, not to mention at least 18 other unofficial ones, each spoken by more than five million people.