Gokula
| Gokula | |
|---|---|
| Zamindar | |
| Successor | Raja Ram Jat |
| Died | 1670 |
Gokula or Gokul Singh (died 1670 AD) was a Jat zamindar of Tilpat in Mathura, India. Gokula's birthname was Ola; he was the second of four sons born to Madu. Gokula provided leadership to the Jat peasants who challenged the Imperial power of the Mughals.
The first serious outbreak of anti-imperial reaction took place among the Jats of Mathura district Uttar Pradesh, where the imperial faujdar, Abdun-Nabi Khan, had oppressed them greatly. In 1669, the Jat peasantry under Gokula, zamindar killed the faujdar but the freedom of the district could not be maintained for more than a year and they were suppressed by Hasan Ali Khan, the new faujdar of Mathura aided personally by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Around 1650-51, Madu and his uncle Singha had fought against the Rajput Raja Jai Singh backed by Mughal support in which Sindhuraj died and second son of Madu Ola became the successor. After this war Singha along with other Jat families in the fortress 'Girsa' moved to Mahavan beyond River Yamuna. Ola (Gokula) also moved with Singha to this place.
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb attempted to convert Dar-ul-Hurb (Hindustan) to Dar-ul-Islam forcibly through persecution and dogmatic policies. This period of Aurangzeb’s reign witnessed the climax of the Mughal Empire. During the early medieval period frequent breakdown of law and order often induced the Jats to adopt a refractory course. But with the establishment of Mughal rule, law and order was effectively established and there were no major Jat revolts during the century and a half preceding the reign of Aurangzeb, though in 1638 Murshid Quli Khan, the Mughal faujdar of Mathura, was killed during an operation against Jats.
In early 1669, Aurangzeb appointed a strong follower of Islam, Abdun Nabi Khan, as faujdar of Mathura to curb the Hindus of this area. Abdun Nabi established a cantonment near Gokul Singh and conducted all his operations from there. Gokula organized the farmers not to give taxes to the Mughals. The Mughal soldiers retaliated, beginning the struggle of the farmers. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb issued orders on 9 April 1669 to abolish the Hindu temples. As a result, a large number of Hindu temples and ancient heritages from the period of Kushans were damaged.
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