Meet the Madhya Pradesh family who loaned ₹35,000 to British govt in 1917 for World War I

109 years later, the Madhya Pradesh family that had attempted to recover the unpaid debt of ₹35,000 dating back to pre-Independence times has received a response from the British government. At the time, a prominent businessman in Sehore advanced ₹35,000 to WS Davis, the then-political agent in Bhopal under the British Raj. The issue came to light after a third-generation family member claimed that the British had taken a war loan from his grandfather that remains unpaid to this day, PTI reported. Seth Jumma Lal Ruthia died in 1937, 20 years after giving the loan to the British government, and the colonial rulers left India a decade later in 1947. Vivek Ruthia, the grandson of the late businessman Seth Jumma Lal Ruthia, told Times of India (TOI) that his family has received what he believes is the first official response from the UK's Debt Management Office (DMO). The 63-year-old resident of Sehore said his lawyer received an email seeking copies of the original certificate and related correspondence. The response has given his family fresh hope of establishing what happened to the money, Ruthia told TOI, adding that his legal team is preparing copies of the 1917 war loan certificate, archival material and correspondence before sending the requested documents. “I am extremely happy. I never imagined there would be a response at this stage,” Ruthia, for whom the matter is more than money, said. The Ruthia family said they hope that British authorities will be able to check historical records and establish whether the loan was ever repaid or otherwise settled. Vivek Ruthia told TOI that his motivation to recover the Indian War Loan during World War I is no longer simply financial but a “matter of ego” for him. He argued that if the British administration accepted the money, there should be a record showing what happened to the liability. His family is now looking for an answer on whether the loan was repaid or remains outstanding. The Ruthia family reportedly kept the old certificate among its papers for decades before the issue was brought back into the spotlight in 2026. As per an alleged certificate circulating on social media, dated 4 June 1917, Seth Jumma Lal of the firm Seth Rama Kishan Jaskaran Ruthia “subscribed ₹35,000 to the Indian War Loan and thereby showed his loyalty to the Government and Empire.” The alleged document also bears the signature of WS Davis as the Political Agent in Bhopal. The family, according to TOI, feels that if they calculated a 5.5% interest rate for 109 years (1917-2026), the amount would already rise to crores. If indexed to gold, this would further skyrocket, as the gold price has increased more than 3,000-fold since 1917. However, it was unclear whether the Ruthia family would get their money back, as complications may arise from the calculations and from the fact that the UK government is no longer ruled by the monarchy. In 2015, the British government redeemed £1.9 billion in War Loan bonds, representing the final repayment of a large category of UK government borrowing associated with World War I and later obligations. However, the existence of those historic UK War Loan repayments does not by itself establish that the Ruthia family's specific 1917 Indian War Loan certificate remains payable today. That would require the individual instrument and associated records to be examined. Arshdeep Kaur is a Senior Content Producer at Mint, where she reports and edits across national and international politics, business and culture‑adjacent trending stories for digital audience. With five years in the newsroom, she strives to balance the speed and rigor of fast‑moving news cycles and longer, context‑rich explainers. <br><br> Before joining LiveMint, Arshdeep served as a Senior Sub‑Editor at Business Standard and earlier as a Sub‑Editor at Asian News International (ANI). Her experience spans live news flows, enterprise features, and multi‑platform packaging. <br><br> At Mint, she regularly writes explainers, quick takes, and visuals‑led stories that are optimized for search and social, while maintaining the publication’s standards for accuracy and clarity. She collaborates closely with editors and the audience team to frame angles that resonate with readers in India and abroad, and to translate complex developments into accessible, high‑impact journalism. <br><br> Arshdeep's academic training underpins her interest towards policy and markets. She earned an MA in Economics from Panjab University and holds a Post‑Graduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the India Today Media Institute (ITMI). This blend of economics and broadcast storytelling informs her coverage of public policy, elections, macro themes, and the consumer‑internet zeitgeist. <br><br> Arshdeep is based in New Delhi, where she tracks breaking developments and longer‑horizon storylines that shape public discourse. Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.