Sehore (Madhya Pradesh): After 109 years, the British Government has decided to examine a claim to repay a war loan borrowed from a prominent businessman from Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore in 1917 during World War I, according to a report on Thursday.
The development came six months after an elderly man from Sehore sent a legal notice to the British government, claiming that a 109-year-old loan given by his grandfather, Seth Jumma Lal Ruthiya, had remained unpaid.
In 1917, Ruthiya had reportedly provided ₹35,000 to the British government to support administrative expenses in Bhopal State.
Finally, after six months, the case took a new turn, with the UK government showing willingness to examine the claim and asking the Seth family to submit related documents.
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What was the matter?
According to the Ruthiya family of Sehore, their ancestor and then Nagar Seth (the city’s prominent businessman), Jummalal Ruthiya, had given a loan of ₹35,000 to the British government in 1917 during World War I.
At that time, India was under British rule, and the colonial government was raising funds from princely states and wealthy families to meet expenses related to the war, including supplies for soldiers and other requirements.
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The family claims that official documents related to the loan were preserved in their ancestral records.
The matter came to light when Nagar Seth Vinay Ruthiya and his younger brother Vivek Ruthiya were examining old family documents. They found the original papers related to the 1917 loan.
The family believes that the value of the loan, after considering interest and inflation over more than a century, would amount to several crores of rupees today.
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UK Government seeks more details
After discovering the documents, the Ruthiya family, through their lawyer Shriyans Raniwal, sent a legal notice to the UK government’s Debt Management Office through email and hard copies.
The UK government has now responded to the notice. Instead of rejecting the claim, authorities have sought additional information and documents related to the loan. The documents will reportedly be examined by the UK’s Gilt Registrar.
Family preparing to submit documents
Vinay Ruthiya, grandson of Seth Jummalal, said the family was preparing to submit all required documents to the UK government to take the matter forward.
He said that under international legal principles, a sovereign country is expected to honour its valid financial obligations. The family is now waiting for the next steps after submitting the requested records.
Seth Jummalal Ruthiya passed away in 1937, but the documents related to the historic transaction remained preserved with his family.
