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".