Badal vs Badal: How a Bangladeshi Tourist Lost 18 Years
A Bangladeshi tourist entered India in 2008 to visit the Taj Mahal. Nearly two decades later, Badal Faraji remains one of South Asia’s most disturbing examples of alleged wrongful imprisonment, mistaken identity, and cross-border legal failure. “Badal vs Badal” explores how a man accused of being someone else lost eighteen years inside prison systems across India and Bangladesh. Combining legal analysis, prison reform perspectives, international human rights standards, and firsthand observations from Kashimpur Prison, this analytical longform examines the human cost of bureaucratic delay, foreign detainee vulnerability, and institutional failure within South Asian justice systems.