THE DEATH STORY
An Indian man spent 18 years trying to prove he was alive after he was declared dead.
Lal Bihari from Uttar Pradesh found out that in 1976 he was declared dead. After this discovery he had to struggle for years to get the government to recognize that he was still alive. Revenue officials ignored him, so he tried a number of drastic steps to be recognized by the government. This included passing out leaflets, running for office, insulting judges and public officials, organizing his own funeral and demanding a widow’s pension for his wife. He even went so far as kidnapping, threatening murder, and other attempts to get arrested, just so his name would have to appear on the books.
Why did this happen? As Bihari found out, he was a victim of a not-too-uncommon practice in his home district of Azamgarh, which is overcrowded and where competition for land is fierce. Relatives of landowners (in Bihari’s case, his uncle) can declare their relatives dead in the Land Registry Office and inherit their property. Bihari met at least 100 other people who fell victim to the same scheme, and founded an organization called “The Association of the Dead” to fight on behalf of people who were wrongfully declared dead. Since finally having his official death annulled in 1994, Bihari has dedicated his time to protecting people in similar circumstances. He also has taken on the title “Mritak” so his full name is now Lal Bihari Mritak or "Lal Bihari the Dead".
Lal Bihari (or Lal Bihari Mritak, लाल बिहारी “मृतक”; born 1961) is a farmer from Uttar Pradesh, India who was officially dead between 1976 and 1994. He founded Mritak Sangh or the Association of the Dead in Uttar Pradesh, India. He fought Indian government bureaucracy for 18 years to prove that he is alive.
When Lal Bihari tried to apply for a bank loan in 1976, he found out that he was officially dead: his uncle had bribed a government official to register him as dead, so that he would get the ownership of Bihari's land.
Bihari discovered at least 100 other people in a similar situation, being officially dead. He formed Mritak Sangh in the Azamgarh district. He and many other members were in danger of being killed by those who had appropriated their property. Nowadays the association has over 20,000 members all over India. By 2004 they had managed to declare four of their members alive.
Over the years Bihari tried to attract attention to his situation by various means. He organized his own funeral and demanded widow's compensation for his wife. In 1980 he added the word "mritak" ("dead") to his name and signed his letters "late Lal Bihari". He stood for election against Rajiv Gandhi in 1989 and lost, to prove that he is alive. In 1994 he managed to have his official death annulled after a long legal struggle.
In 2004 he ran for a seat in the parliament of Lal Ganj.
Bihari continues to support other people in similar situations. In 2004 he sponsored fellow Mritak Sangh member Shivdutt Yadav when he contested election against Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
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