Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People
Indian pressure group that seeks to reclaim the legal rights of those falsely listed as being dead
The Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश मृतक संघ, Uttar Pradesh Mritak Sangh) is an Indian advocacy group based in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh that seeks to reclaim the legal rights of those falsely listed by the Uttar Pradesh State government as being dead.
In the overcrowded regions of Uttar Pradesh, many have resorted to bribing officials to have the owner of a plot of land declared deceased and the title transferred to their ownership (inherited). The process to undo this is long, arduous, as well as often inefficient and corrupt. The Association seeks to reverse the declarations, call attention to the problem and prevent others from being exploited in similar fashion.
The founder and president is Lal Bihari, who was "dead" from 1976 to 1994 and used the word Mritak (Hindi: मृतक, lit. 'Dead') in his name during the period.
After being inspired by the story of Bihari, Indian film director Satish Kaushik made a movie Kaagaz, starring Pankaj Tripathi, based on his life. It was released on ZEE5 on 7 January 2021.
History
Lal Bihari's problem
In 1976, 20-year-old Lal Bihari's application for loan from a bank in Azamgarh was denied, on the grounds that he was officially dead. He soon learned that his uncle had bribed a government official with ₹300 (US$33.33) to have his nephew declared deceased, in order to inherit Lal Bihari's ancestral land holdings of about 1 acre (0.4 ha). Subsequently, Lal Bihari lost his home.
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