OCHTERLONY, SIR DAVID (1758-1825), soldier and diplomat, son of David Ochterlony, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, on 12 February 1758. In 1777, he joined the service of the East India Company as a cadet. He served under Lord Lake in the battle of Delhi and was appointed British resident in

RAKHI SYSTEM, the arrangement whereby the Dal Khalsa during the middecades of the eighteenth century established their sway over territories not under their direct occupation. Rakhi, lit. `protection` or `vigilance,` referred to the cess levied by the Dal Khalsa upon villages which sought their protection against aggression or molestation in

SITALA (SHITALA) He who runs towards Bhairava, Bhuta (Ghost) or Sitala, he can only be recipient of the reward of the vehicle of an ass, who rolls up in the dust. (Gond Namdev, p. 874) Sitala is the name of the deity, who is supposed to have the charge