Removing SEX from the plate

Commuters will be commuters. However mature people may be - and most aren't - a vehicle number plate that contains the letters S-E-X are bound to elicit titters on the road. A woman whose two-wheeler was doled out one such auto-generated registration number in Delhi complained about her ordeal. Since then, the Delhi transport department has stopped doling out 'SEX'. Some would find such hullabaloo over three letters of the English alphabet childish, even emblematic of Delhi's infamous 'macho' culture. But, frankly, even in the wokest of towns, a number plate with 'SEX' on it is asking for nudge-nudge wink-winks.

Removing the crypto-word was the right solution. But even as its presence cut through all genders - a man riding a car bearing the 'SEX' symbol would also be a target from fellow commuters, although with far less perceivable menace - in a labour market where women are reportedly withdrawing, a scan shows the paucity of women on the floor of bourses. Could this be because the 'sensitive index' - commonly, the 'Sensex' - contains the same word that makes for embarrassing professional discourse? Could changing 'BSE Sensex' to 'BSE Sendex' make it more comfortable for women to join the stock market professional class? At least in the case of vehicular visibility, bearing a 'SEX' isn't safe.