>The Continuing Crisis: An October New York Times dispatch from
India highlighted the growing problem of intra-family frauds in
which one member will claim a living relative's land or wealth
by swearing to the government that the relative is dead. An
advocacy group, the Association of Dead People, helps aggrieved
citizens figure out just how to prove that they are indeed alive,
which can be a difficult concept for India's bargelike bureau-
cracies to accept. The association's founder said he remained
officially dead even after he ran for office, filed lawsuits
and got arrested just to get his name on public records.
The technical term for these is adjurants, since they have been the subject of an adjuration. They might also be termed the exorcised, since they have been dispossessed by an adjuration.
Ted wanders off grinning to himself at this most subtle of puns. (Or perhaps not so subtle, but a damned fine one anyway!)
