BD NarayankarBengaluru, May 30 -- There are moments in politics when a government file does not merely move-it acquires a life of its own. The caste survey report in Karnataka is one such creature. Accepted by outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with bureaucratic calm and political finality, it has quietly begun doing what numbers in India often do best: unsettle the powerful.
On the surface, it is a routine act of acceptance. Beneath it, however, lies a more interesting disturbance. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and senior leader Rahul Gandhi now find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to respond to a document they did not quite invite at this moment, but cannot quite ignore either.
Siddaramaiah, a veteran of Karna...