Lal Bihari

Lal Bihari Mritak (or Lal Bihari Mritak, ; born 1955) is an Indian farmer and activist from Amilo, in Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, who was officially declared dead between 1975 and 1994. He fought with Indian bureaucracy for 19 years to prove that he is alive. Meanwhile, he added ''Mritak'' () to his name, and founded ''Mritak Sangh'', the Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People, to highlight other cases like his.

Biography

He lived in a small village of Uttar Pradesh before becoming a well-known personality. In order to apply for a bank loan, Lal Bihari visited the revenue office at Azamgarh district headquarters to get proof of identity, whereupon he learned that he was officially dead. His uncle had bribed an official to register him as dead, so that he would get the ownership of Bihari's ancestral land at Khalilabad, which measured less than an acre.

Bihari discovered at least 100 other people in similar situations, being officially dead. He formed ''Mritak Sangh'', Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People, in the Azamgarh district. He and many other members were in danger of being killed by those who had appropriated their property. Currently, the association has over 20,000 members from 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 (unsuccessfully) for election against Rajiv Gandhi in 1989, to prove that he is alive. In 1994 he managed to have his official death annulled after a long legal struggle.

Bihari was awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Award in 2003. In 2004 he ran for a seat in the parliament of Lalganj, Uttar Pradesh.

Bihari continues to support other people in similar situations. In 2004, he sponsored fellow Mritak Sangh member Shivdutt Yadav when he contested the election against Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

In popular culture

In 2021, film-maker Satish Kaushik made a movie about his life and "death", titled ''Kaagaz'', produced by Salman Khan and Nishant Kaushik under the banner of Salman Khan Films and The Satish Kaushik Entertainment Production. It stars Pankaj Tripathi along with Monal Gajjar and Amar Upadhyay and was released on ZEE5 on 7 January 2021.

See also

* The Late Mattia Pascal, Luigi Pirandello's novel about a living man who was officially dead.

References

External links

''"Mritak" recommended for Independence Day award''
The Hindu, 7 July 2006
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bihari, Lal
Living people
1955 births
People from Azamgarh district
People declared dead in absentia
Activists from Uttar Pradesh
Indian farmers
Date of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)