Call it the historical vindication of Newton’s third law of motion as Ireland and India are showing that actions of history too have an equal and opposite reaction. These former colonies of erstwhile British Empire today are paying it back, albeit economically. While India is twice the size of UK’s economy ($3.6 trillion against UK’s $1.8 trillion in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)), Indians are making it a habit to buy big ticket British companies (be it Tetley or Corus), while other British companies (which thankfully have not yet been bought, including British Airways, British Telecom and HSBC) are outsourcing work to India to save costs and remain alive. Ireland, on the other hand, has surged ahead of its erstwhile coloniser in terms of per capita income (PPP), which stands at $33,170 against UK’s $31,460 and is now a major hub for software development. While both the countries are surging ahead, UK is happy playing the role of a toy poodle of the US. Today, its importance is lesser than many sub-Saharan African countries; even they have a bigger say. Now UK’s existence depends on saying aye to American dictums, be it Iraq or North Korea. Well, what a downfall of the Emperor!!!