CLERK, SIR GEORGE RUSSELL (1800-1889), diplomat, son of John Clerk, entered the service of the East India Company as a writer in 1817. After various appointments in Calcutta, Rajputana and Delhi, he became political agent at Ambala in 1831. He was appointed agent to the Governor General at the North-West Frontier Agency in 1840. In this capacity, he shaped British policy towards the Sikhs during the days following the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. For almost a decade, as political agent at Ambala, he had been responsible for British political relations with the cis Sutlej states.
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 1803 at the court of Shah `Alam, emperor of Hindustan. In 1808, he was the garrison commander at Allahabad when he was ordered to advance to the Sutlej with a detachment to meet the Sikh troops in the cis Sutlej region. From 1809-14 he was agent to the Governor General at the Ludhiana Political Agency.
