Lal Bihari

Lal Bihari ( Hindi लाल बिहारी Lāl Bihārī ; * 1961 in Azamgarh , Uttar Pradesh ) is an officially declared dead in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

An uncle who wanted to take over his property had him pronounced dead on July 30, 1976, without his knowledge, while he was away from his village. When Bihari went to apply for a loan, the hoax was noticed and a conflict began with the authorities over his recognition as a "living person". He gained some notoriety in India due to his unsuccessful fight against the country's authorities.

Among other things, he began to be active as a writer, tried to go into politics and attracted attention because he himself applied for a widow's pension for his wife and organized his own funeral. Only in 1994, after 18 years, was he officially declared alive again. Then in 1999 he founded Mritak Sangh (Association for Dead People), an association that fights for the rights of those who suffer the same fate. Today the organization has more than 20,000 members across India and achieved 4 members back to life in 2004.

He was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize on October 2, 2003 for his achievements as a living dead in the peace category, more precisely:

1. for living actively even though he was officially dead,
2. for his lively and posthumous campaign against bureaucratic inertia and corruption,
3. for the foundation of the association for dead people.

Lal Bihari was unable to receive the award in person because the US government refused entry. He sent his friend Madhu Kapoor to represent him, and the ceremony was repeated in India a few weeks later.

The filmmaker Satish Kaushik has meanwhile announced that he will be filming the life and work of Lal Bihari.

Web links

• Back to Life in India, Without Reincarnation New York Times October 20, 2003
• Laureate of the Ig Nobel Prize 2003

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Living Dead from India