Madhya Pradesh: 109 Years On, UK Agrees to Examine MP Family’s WWI Loan Claim
The investment of Rs 35,000 made in the Indian War Loan 109 years ago may now yield Rs ten crores with cumulative interest, Mr. Ruthia feels: Reports
BHOPAL: Exactly 109 years and two months after a Madhya Pradesh businessman subscribed Rs 35,000 to the Indian War Loan, raised from the public by the British Empire during the WW I, his descendants received a response from the United Kingdom government indicating to examine the claim.
Sehore-Based Vivek Ruthia (63), has said that his family has received a response from the UK’s Debt Management Office (DMO) after approaching the British authority over Rs 35,000 subscription made by his grandfather, Seth Jumma Lal Ruthia, then Nagar Seth (prominent city businessman), to the Indian War Loan in 1917.
Mr. Ruthia’s counsel has been communicated by the DMO through Email recently seeking a copy of the original war loan certificate and related correspondence for submission to the British authority to examine the war loan repayment request, he said.
“If you believe that your client may be entitled to an unclaimed payment, you should contact the gilt registrar, Computershare Investor Services PLC, providing what information you have relating to the holding in question. We have passed on the information and documentation you have provided, but it would be helpful if you can provide copies of any other documentary evidence you have, including certificates and correspondence”, the DMO communication said.
He said that more than the money, the family is keen to find out the fate of the loan, whether it was repaid or otherwise settled.
The family however says that it has found no documents to establish that the loan was either paid or otherwise settled before or after Independence of India in 1947.
The investment of Rs 35,000 made in the Indian War Loan 109 years ago may now yield Rs ten crores with cumulative interest, Mr. Ruthia feels.
Seth Jumma Lal died in 1937, two decades after he lent Rs 35,000 to the British Empire through Indian War Loan.
The claim by the Ruthia family is based on a certificate dated June four, 1917, found in its possession.
The certificate read, “Seth Jumma Lal Subscribed Rs 35,000/- (Rupees Thirty-five thousand) of the firm of Seth Rama Kishan Jaskaran Ruthia to the Indian War Loan and thereby showed his loyalty to the Government and Empire”.
The document was signed by WS Davis, who was then the Political Agent in Bhopal.
According to the Ruthia family, when the document surfaced, a legal notice was sent via email to the UK government’s DMO through their lawyer Sriyansh Raniwal in February this year.
