Veer Gokula Jat (died 1 January 1670), also known as Gokul Dev, was a

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

and

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

who led a rebellion against the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

during the reign of emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

in the late 17th century. Gokula emerged as a symbol of resistance against Mughal oppression, particularly their discriminatory religious and economic policies. His leadership in the uprising of 1669 marked one of the earliest organised revolts against Mughal rule in India, influencing later rebellions and the rise of the Kingdom of Bharatpur. In 1669, Gokula rallied approximately 20,000

Jats The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in ...

and other local farmers to resist oppressive Mughal taxation and religious policies. His forces achieved early successes, defeating and killing the Mughal faujdar Abdul Nabi Khan at the Battle of Sahora and destroying the Sadabad cantonment. However, the rebellion was crushed following the Siege of Tilpat, where Gokula was captured after a four-day battle. Gokula was executed in

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

on 1 January 1670, after he refused to convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Early life

Gokula (originally ''Ola'' or ''Gokul Dev'') was born in a Hindu Jat family of Tilpat region (of Haga/Agre/Agha gotra) to Madu Haga and was the second of the family's four sons.Narendra Singh Verma: Virvar Amar Jyoti Gokul Singh (Hindi), Sankalp Prakashan, Agra, 1986, p. 5

Background

In the mid-17th century, the

under

faced growing discontent among its subjects, particularly in rural areas. The

, a predominantly agrarian community in the

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

region (present-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

), bore the brunt of heavy land revenue demands, often exceeding 50% of their produce. Aurangzeb’s reimposition of the

jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...

(a tax on non-Muslims) in 1669, coupled with forced

ic conversions, destruction of

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

s and prohibition on

Hindu festivals Hindus celebrate a significant number of festivals and celebrations, many of which commemorate events from ancient India and often align with seasonal changes. These festivities take place either on a fixed annual date on the solar calendar ...

, deepened the sentiments among

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

communities, mostly the

, who revered

as a sacred center of lord

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

worship. The spark for rebellion came in 1669 when mughal Abdul Nabi’s oppressive measures, including excessive tax collection and interference in local religious practices, pushed the

to the breaking point.

Rebellion

In early 1669, Gokula, as the

of Tilpat, emerged as the leader of a peasant uprising against Mughal oppression. The rebellion was sparked by Abdul Nabi’s excesses and the burdensome tax regime. Gokula mobilised approximately 20,000 Jat farmers, along with Gujjars and

Ahir Ahir or Aheer (derived from the Sanskrit word: abhira) is a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the Yadav surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

s. In May 1669, the rebels attacked Mughal outposts. An early victory came at the ''Battle of Sahora'', where Gokula’s forces killed Abdul Nabi, while he attempted to capture the village. The rebels destroyed the Mughal cantonment at Sadabad, sacking regions around

and disrupting Mughal control.This inspired the

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

to fight against the Mughal rulers, who were there to destroy all Hindu rebels and this fight continued for five months.

1st Battle of Tilpat (1669)

The Battle of Tilpat was fought between Hindu Jats and the

in 1669. Mughal

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

s (governors) imposed heavy taxes (

) on the farmers of this region due to bad financial conditions of the empire resulting from the continuous military expansion in the southern regions of the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of A ...

. Due to the imposition of heavy taxation and restriction on Hindu religious practices, dissatisfaction and anger arose among the Jats and it took the form of rebellion against

during

reign. To suppress the rebellion

sent his commanders Hasan Ali Khan and Brahmdev Sisodia with a big army contingent of

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

and Mughal soldiers as a reinforcement to Sadabad cantonment commanded by Abdul Nabi. Some

s (Brahmdev Sisodia) also supported the Mughal ruler,

, in Battle of Tilpat. The Gokula Jat, son of Tilpat Zamindar Madu Singh, led the rebellion of farmers along with his uncle Uday Singh Jat. First confrontations of the rebellion continued for 4 days with the seizing of Tilpat and the farmers' counterattacks. Gokula leadership in the Jat uprising of 1669 marked one of the earliest organised revolts against Mughal rule in India by

2nd Battle of Tilpat

In 1669, Gokula Dev with 20,000 farmers, mostly

, faced the Mughals 20 miles from Tilpat. Abdul Nabi attacked them. At first he appeared to be gaining ground, but in the middle of the fighting he was killed on 12 May 1669 (21st Dhu al Hijja, 1079 A.H.). They retreated to Tilpat, where Hasan Ali followed and besieged them aided by reinforcements of 10,000 musketeers, 5,000 rocketmen, and 250 artillery pieces. Amanulla, the

Faujdar Faujdar under the Mughals was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. The term faujdar contained pre-Mughal origins. During those times, the term referred to a military offic ...

of the environs of

was also sent to reinforce Hasan Ali.

Death

Gokula was brought to

, following his capture by Mughals.

asked Gokula to adopt the

ic religion. But after Gokula refusal, he was executed by having his limbs cut off one by one on a public platform in

. Gokula son and daughter were forcibly converted to

by the Mughal authorities under

. These conversions were not voluntary and were part of the broader context of Mughal policies toward non-Muslim rebels during Aurangzeb’s reign, and his followers were imprisoned. Meanwhile, innocent people caught up in the fighting were released after proper inquiries, and the elderly and children were handed over to a court eunuch for care.

Legacy

A Rajasthani poet, Balveer Singh Karuna, in his book ''Samarveer Gokula'' wrote that:

References

{{reflist 17th-century Indian people People executed by dismemberment Rebels from the Mughal Empire 1670 deaths Year of birth unknown Jat Indian rebels Indian Hindus