As pan-India 'BH' moves about, will states be tempted to display local identity even more prominently—a gopuram with TN, maybe?
licence plates “all manner of alphabetical permutations and combinations were on view”.
This included JA (Jamaica), WAG (West Africa and Gambia), FM (Federated Malay States), BI (British India), M (Mandatory Palestine), EA (Kenya and East Africa) and SAU (South African Union). ToI explained that the UK allowed drivers from most countries to use their cars without paying any charge for 90 days, but because the US had not signed the relevant international convention: “American cars are required to be registered with British number plates and this is done at the ship’s side.”
Licence plate-spotting goes back a while.
It is easier than trainspotting or aircraft spotting, which requires being in often hard-to-access spaces. For licence plates, you just need to be on or near any auto-accessible road, to note letters and numbers on licence plates as they pass. You can brush up arithmetic skills by adding or multiplying the numbers, while the letters offer lessons in geography and regional development.
A coronation isn’t needed, just any location likely to attract varied automobiles, like a border area or tourist destination.
AS, ML, MN, AN...
Siliguri is a good example. When you exit Bagdogra airport you are met with a sea of WB plates, but also a fair amount of AS and SK from the two states close by. And since it’s a gateway to the Northeast, it’s not uncommon to see plates like ML, MN and MZ, which rarely appear in the rest of India.