Dhaka, Aug. 22 -- The National Consensus Commission, as it came to be known, is often presented as the 'Jewel in The Crown' of the reform initiative underway in Bangladesh, under the leadership of its interim government. The chief adviser, Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, has often raved about it to his foreign guests or on his trips abroad, claiming it to be a vibrant democratic exercise that was unique in both aim and form.

The NCC was placed at the apex of a set of sectoral reform commissions, that numbered six, and tasked with extracting the relevant suggested reforms from each to come up with a full, final set of reforms. The NCC was formed by the chairs of the six initial commissions, along with the chief adviser himself. These wo...