Archive · 6 Aug 2026
British Government to Examine 109-Year-Old World War I Loan Claim
A very long time ago, in 1917, a businessman named Seth Jumma Lal Ruthiya lent the British government 35,000 rupees to help pay for World War I. India was ruled by Britain at that time.
The government never paid the money back.
More than one hundred years later, his grandsons, Vinay and Vivek Ruthiya, found the old loan papers in their family's records.
They wrote a letter to the UK government asking for the money back.
The UK government did not say no.
It said it would look at the claim and asked the family to send more documents.
The family thinks the loan is worth several crores of rupees today when interest and inflation are added.
The businessman who lent the money died in 1937.
The British government has decided to examine a 109-year-old claim to repay a ₹35,000 war loan given in 1917 by Sehore businessman Seth Jumma Lal Ruthiya.
The loan was provided to support administrative expenses in Bhopal State during World War I, when India was under British rule.
Brothers Vinay Ruthiya and Vivek Ruthiya discovered the original loan papers among old family documents.
The family sent a legal notice to the UK government's Debt Management Office through lawyer Shriyans Raniwal; the UK has now asked for additional documents.
The documents will be examined by the UK's Gilt Registrar, and the family believes the loan is worth several crores of rupees today with interest and inflation.
- Who
- The Ruthiya family of Sehore, descendants of Seth Jumma Lal Ruthiya, and the British (UK) government.
- What
- The UK government has agreed to examine a 109-year-old claim for repayment of a ₹35,000 war loan made in 1917.
- When
- The loan was made in 1917; the UK government responded about six months after the family's legal notice.
- Where
- Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, India; the claim was sent to the UK government's Debt Management Office.
- Why
- The family wants repayment of the loan, which they say is worth several crores of rupees today with interest and inflation.
- Loan amount
- ₹35,000
- Year of loan
- 1917
- Lender
- Seth Jumma Lal Ruthiya, Nagar Seth of Sehore
- Purpose
- Administrative expenses in Bhopal State during World War I
- Claimants
- Vinay Ruthiya and Vivek Ruthiya, grandsons of Seth Jummalal
- Legal counsel
- Lawyer Shriyans Raniwal
- Examining authority
- UK's Gilt Registrar
- Lender's death
- 1937