The UK government has replied to a query from 63-year-old Vivek Ruthia of Sehore in Madhya Pradesh. He states that British authorities borrowed ₹35,000 from his grandfather in 1917. According to a Times of India report, Ruthia’s lawyers received an email, reportedly from the UK Debt Management Office, requesting the original loan certificate and supporting papers. Ruthia expressed surprise and satisfaction at the response, noting that the issue now concerns family pride as much as finances. He pledged full cooperation and expressed hope that British records can confirm the loan’s existence. The claim centers on a certificate dated June 4, 1917, kept by the family for over a century. It records that businessman Seth Jumma Lal Ruthia of the firm Seth Rama Kishan Jaskaran Ruthia in Bhopal invested ₹35,000 in the Indian War Loan issued during World War I. The document bears the signature of WS Davis, then Political Agent in Bhopal. These war loans were debt instruments used by British authorities to raise funds from traders and affluent citizens for military spending. The 1917 loan carried a 5.5% interest rate. Ruthia maintains the principal was never repaid. He estimates that, with compound interest over 109 years, the sum would reach crores of rupees, and indexing to gold prices would raise it further. The family retains properties in Sehore, Indore and Bhopal and runs interests in agriculture, hospitality and real estate. Vivek Ruthia discovered the documents in his grandfather’s will, which included correspondence with British officials indicating the loan.
