01-28-2007, 09:35 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Veer Gokul Singh (Martyred â 1670 A.D)
"Kasihki Kala Gayee, Mathura Masid Bhaee; Gar Shivaji Na Hoto, To Sunati Hot Sabaki!" [1]
The above were the words of a contemporary poet named Bhushan on Shivaji Maharaj meaning â[Kashi has lost its splendour, Mathura has become a mosque; If Shivaji had not been, All would have been circumcised (converted)]â [2] and they have much truth in them but if we substitute the name Gokul in place of Shivaji the words have as much truth in them as before. In the long and glorious history of Hindus (the longest surviving civilisation known to man) there were countless Veers who fought the invaders and sacrificed their lives for their Religion and Motherland, some of them such as Veer Shivaji Maharaj and Maharana Pratap have acquired great fame and are remembered among Hindus down to the present day for their brave deeds, but there were countless others who fought just as hard but who are largely forgotten or virtually unknown and who have become obscure in the long history of Hindus, Veer Gokul Singh is one such man whose name should be remembered by all Hindus for his brave deeds and the sacrifice he made for our religion. We shall now examine who he was and what he had done to deserve such praise.
Early Life:
The early life of Gokula is obscure and not much is known about him except for the fact that he was a Hindu Jat chieftain of Sinsini village near Mathura in present day Uttar Pradesh, he was named Ola (later came to be known as Gokul) by his father Madu and had three other brothers named Sindhuraj, Jhaman and Saman. About the year 1650 A.D â1651 A.D his father and his uncle Singha had a fight with Raja Jaisingh and his elder brother Sindhuraj was killed, as a result Gokula became the next heir and shifted to the village of Mahavan past River Yamuna together with his uncle Singha. [3]
Condition of Hindus at the time:
It is important to know the condition of Hindus and our situation during those times in the country to understand the actions of Veer Gokul Singh. In the year 1658 A.D the fanatical Muslim Aurangzeb becomes the Mughal Emperor and embarks on a zealous mission to convert Hindus to Islam through any method possible. The atrocities of Aurangzeb on Hindus are too numerous and well known and need not be repeated here but it is important that we look at the situation of Hindus in Mathura and the adjacent areas since that was the place where Gokla was living at that time. The fanatical Mughals used to administer the area through officers named faujdars, one of them was Murshid Quli Khan who died in 1638 A.D, and he used to raid villages for capturing beautiful women. In the words of Sir Jadunath Sarkar âthe Khan, painting his forehead and wearing a dhoti like a Hindu used to walk up and down in the crowd. Whenever he saw a woman whose beauty filled even the Moon with envy, he snatched her away like a wolf, pouncing upon a flock, and placing her in the boat which his men kept ready on the bank (of the Jamuna) he sped to Agra.â [4]. Another infamous character of the time was Abduân Nabî Khãn the governor of Mathura at that time. In the words of Sri Sita Ram Goel âHe plundered the people unscrupulously and amassed great wealth. But his worst offence was the pulling down of the foremost Hindu temple in the heart of Mathura and building a Jãmiâ Masjid on its site. This he did in AD 1660-61. Soon after, in 1665, Aurangzeb imposed a pilgrim tax on the Hindus. In 1668, he prohibited celebration of all Hindu festivals, particularly Holi and Diwali. The Jats who rightly regarded themselves as the defenders of Hindu honor were no longer in a mood to take it lying.â [5], It was under these trying times that a man named Gokul Singh rose to the occasion for the defense of Hindus of the area.
Rise to fame:
The rise of Veer Gokul Singh from obscurity to a position of importance starts in the year 1669 A.D, around this time Samarth Ramdas the Guru of Shivaji Maharaj was traveling in the area of Gokula and after his sermon in Muzzafarpur area in which he exorted the people to rise to defend dharma âyoung men, led by Gokula, accepted the exhortation and challenge of the Guru to devote and sacrifice their lives for the motherland. The vows were taken, with a sip of water from the Ganga, and the Yamuna, and the chewing of a pipal leaf.â [6], One day Abduân Nabî Khãn the afore mentioned governor of Mathura in the month of May tried to grab hold of the village of Sihora [7], As a result a fight broke out between the villagers and Nabi Khan at which Gokula was there and Nabi Khan was killed by the villagers. The villagers later rallied around Gokula under whose leadership they soon attacked and ruined the cantonment of Sadabad, which was established by Sadullah Khan in the reign of Shah Jahan. The success they tasted soon stirred the Hindus of the area to rebel against the Mughal authority; the disturbance caused by them was severe enough to warrant an offer from the Mughal regime to Gokula according to which he was offered forgiveness if he stopped his rebellious activities. Gokla turned down this offer and continued his rebellion; soon Aurangzeb himself sent a strong force under the command of Radandaz Khan, Hasan Ali Khan and other officers. The Mughal forces soon delivered an attack on three fortified Jat villages and in the words of K R Qanungo âHassan Ali delivered an attack upon three fortified villages of the Jats and won a very costly victory. The peasants fought long and steadily, displaying that cool obstinate valour which had ever characterised them. When resistance became hopeless, many of them slew their women and rushed upon the Mughals to sell their lives dearly.â [8], thus ended the first major battle against the Mughals in which Gokulaâs forces made the Mughals pay dearly despite heavy odds against them.
The Battle of Tilpat:
After the first battle Gokula soon offered to battle the Mughals about 20 miles from the Jat stronghold of Tilpat, Gokula assembled a force of 20,000 and offered a valiant fight against heavy odds, the Jats suffered a loss of 3,000 men while the Mughals lost about 4,000 of their forces after an exhaustive and gory battle [9], but the superior numbers and discipline of the Mughal forces soon managed to defeat the Jats again in the second battle, Gokulas forces soon retreated to Tilpat and held out the Mughals for 3 more days despite heavy odds but soon the Mughals managed to force their way into Tilpat and took over the Jat stronghold of Tilpat, thus ended what was known as the first Jat rebellion.
The End:
After the loss of Tilpat, Gokula was soon captured by the Mughals and along with his uncle Uday Singh (who also fought in the battle of Tilpat) was imprisoned and was taken to Agra along with other captives. Many of the womenfolk committed Jauhar to escape the clutches of the Mughals. At Agra Gokula was asked to embrace Islam if he wished to live, on hearing this Gokula asked Aurangzeb to offer his daughter to him in return to poke fun at the Emperor [10], this enraged Aurangzeb and he ordered the execution of Gokula. On January 1, 1670 following the orders of Aurangzeb, Gokula was hacked to death piece by piece on the platform of Agra Kotwali (Agra Police Office) and the same thing was done to his uncle Uday Singh, thus ended the life of both the heroes and both attained martyrdom in fighting the tyranny of the Mughals but refused to give up their religion. After Gokulas death his family was forcibly converted to Islam, according to Sri Sita Ram Goel âthe capture and murder of Gokul with fiendish cruelty and the forcible conversion of his family members to Islam, coincided with the destruction of the KeÅ¡avadeva temple.â [11], Gokula may have passed away but his death inspired many more rebellions among Hindus against the Mughal authority and these rebellions would eventually lead to the establishment of the famed kingdom of Bharatpur. Hindus of today need to remember and honor such heroes without whom our religion and culture would not have survived, hopefully many more Gokulaâs will be born among Hindus and will lift up the condition of our people.
Jai Durga Ma.
[1] Demeaning Shivaji, denigrating dharma - http://www.hvk.org/articles/0104/159.html
[2] Demeaning Shivaji, denigrating dharma - http://www.hvk.org/articles/0104/159.html
[3] Gokula turned History - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2530
[4] Sir Jadunath Sarkarâs âHistory of Aurangzeb â Volume iii, Pg - 332â
[5] Sita Ram Goelâs âHINDU TEMPLES WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, Volume II â Chapter 4â - http://voiceofdharma.com/books/htemples2/ch4.htm
[6] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2532
[7] Gokula turned History - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2530
[8] K R Qanungoâs âHistory Of The Jats - Jat History In Aurangzebâs Reign pp 20-22â
[9] K R Qanungoâs âHistory Of The Jats - Jat History In Aurangzebâs Reign pp 20-22â
[10] Gokula turned History - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2530
[11] Sita Ram Goelâs âHINDU TEMPLES WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, Volume II â Chapter 4â - http://voiceofdharma.com/books/htemples2/ch4.htm
http://groups.msn.com/hindu-history/rawarc...543819933292192<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
"Kasihki Kala Gayee, Mathura Masid Bhaee; Gar Shivaji Na Hoto, To Sunati Hot Sabaki!" [1]
The above were the words of a contemporary poet named Bhushan on Shivaji Maharaj meaning â[Kashi has lost its splendour, Mathura has become a mosque; If Shivaji had not been, All would have been circumcised (converted)]â [2] and they have much truth in them but if we substitute the name Gokul in place of Shivaji the words have as much truth in them as before. In the long and glorious history of Hindus (the longest surviving civilisation known to man) there were countless Veers who fought the invaders and sacrificed their lives for their Religion and Motherland, some of them such as Veer Shivaji Maharaj and Maharana Pratap have acquired great fame and are remembered among Hindus down to the present day for their brave deeds, but there were countless others who fought just as hard but who are largely forgotten or virtually unknown and who have become obscure in the long history of Hindus, Veer Gokul Singh is one such man whose name should be remembered by all Hindus for his brave deeds and the sacrifice he made for our religion. We shall now examine who he was and what he had done to deserve such praise.
Early Life:
The early life of Gokula is obscure and not much is known about him except for the fact that he was a Hindu Jat chieftain of Sinsini village near Mathura in present day Uttar Pradesh, he was named Ola (later came to be known as Gokul) by his father Madu and had three other brothers named Sindhuraj, Jhaman and Saman. About the year 1650 A.D â1651 A.D his father and his uncle Singha had a fight with Raja Jaisingh and his elder brother Sindhuraj was killed, as a result Gokula became the next heir and shifted to the village of Mahavan past River Yamuna together with his uncle Singha. [3]
Condition of Hindus at the time:
It is important to know the condition of Hindus and our situation during those times in the country to understand the actions of Veer Gokul Singh. In the year 1658 A.D the fanatical Muslim Aurangzeb becomes the Mughal Emperor and embarks on a zealous mission to convert Hindus to Islam through any method possible. The atrocities of Aurangzeb on Hindus are too numerous and well known and need not be repeated here but it is important that we look at the situation of Hindus in Mathura and the adjacent areas since that was the place where Gokla was living at that time. The fanatical Mughals used to administer the area through officers named faujdars, one of them was Murshid Quli Khan who died in 1638 A.D, and he used to raid villages for capturing beautiful women. In the words of Sir Jadunath Sarkar âthe Khan, painting his forehead and wearing a dhoti like a Hindu used to walk up and down in the crowd. Whenever he saw a woman whose beauty filled even the Moon with envy, he snatched her away like a wolf, pouncing upon a flock, and placing her in the boat which his men kept ready on the bank (of the Jamuna) he sped to Agra.â [4]. Another infamous character of the time was Abduân Nabî Khãn the governor of Mathura at that time. In the words of Sri Sita Ram Goel âHe plundered the people unscrupulously and amassed great wealth. But his worst offence was the pulling down of the foremost Hindu temple in the heart of Mathura and building a Jãmiâ Masjid on its site. This he did in AD 1660-61. Soon after, in 1665, Aurangzeb imposed a pilgrim tax on the Hindus. In 1668, he prohibited celebration of all Hindu festivals, particularly Holi and Diwali. The Jats who rightly regarded themselves as the defenders of Hindu honor were no longer in a mood to take it lying.â [5], It was under these trying times that a man named Gokul Singh rose to the occasion for the defense of Hindus of the area.
Rise to fame:
The rise of Veer Gokul Singh from obscurity to a position of importance starts in the year 1669 A.D, around this time Samarth Ramdas the Guru of Shivaji Maharaj was traveling in the area of Gokula and after his sermon in Muzzafarpur area in which he exorted the people to rise to defend dharma âyoung men, led by Gokula, accepted the exhortation and challenge of the Guru to devote and sacrifice their lives for the motherland. The vows were taken, with a sip of water from the Ganga, and the Yamuna, and the chewing of a pipal leaf.â [6], One day Abduân Nabî Khãn the afore mentioned governor of Mathura in the month of May tried to grab hold of the village of Sihora [7], As a result a fight broke out between the villagers and Nabi Khan at which Gokula was there and Nabi Khan was killed by the villagers. The villagers later rallied around Gokula under whose leadership they soon attacked and ruined the cantonment of Sadabad, which was established by Sadullah Khan in the reign of Shah Jahan. The success they tasted soon stirred the Hindus of the area to rebel against the Mughal authority; the disturbance caused by them was severe enough to warrant an offer from the Mughal regime to Gokula according to which he was offered forgiveness if he stopped his rebellious activities. Gokla turned down this offer and continued his rebellion; soon Aurangzeb himself sent a strong force under the command of Radandaz Khan, Hasan Ali Khan and other officers. The Mughal forces soon delivered an attack on three fortified Jat villages and in the words of K R Qanungo âHassan Ali delivered an attack upon three fortified villages of the Jats and won a very costly victory. The peasants fought long and steadily, displaying that cool obstinate valour which had ever characterised them. When resistance became hopeless, many of them slew their women and rushed upon the Mughals to sell their lives dearly.â [8], thus ended the first major battle against the Mughals in which Gokulaâs forces made the Mughals pay dearly despite heavy odds against them.
The Battle of Tilpat:
After the first battle Gokula soon offered to battle the Mughals about 20 miles from the Jat stronghold of Tilpat, Gokula assembled a force of 20,000 and offered a valiant fight against heavy odds, the Jats suffered a loss of 3,000 men while the Mughals lost about 4,000 of their forces after an exhaustive and gory battle [9], but the superior numbers and discipline of the Mughal forces soon managed to defeat the Jats again in the second battle, Gokulas forces soon retreated to Tilpat and held out the Mughals for 3 more days despite heavy odds but soon the Mughals managed to force their way into Tilpat and took over the Jat stronghold of Tilpat, thus ended what was known as the first Jat rebellion.
The End:
After the loss of Tilpat, Gokula was soon captured by the Mughals and along with his uncle Uday Singh (who also fought in the battle of Tilpat) was imprisoned and was taken to Agra along with other captives. Many of the womenfolk committed Jauhar to escape the clutches of the Mughals. At Agra Gokula was asked to embrace Islam if he wished to live, on hearing this Gokula asked Aurangzeb to offer his daughter to him in return to poke fun at the Emperor [10], this enraged Aurangzeb and he ordered the execution of Gokula. On January 1, 1670 following the orders of Aurangzeb, Gokula was hacked to death piece by piece on the platform of Agra Kotwali (Agra Police Office) and the same thing was done to his uncle Uday Singh, thus ended the life of both the heroes and both attained martyrdom in fighting the tyranny of the Mughals but refused to give up their religion. After Gokulas death his family was forcibly converted to Islam, according to Sri Sita Ram Goel âthe capture and murder of Gokul with fiendish cruelty and the forcible conversion of his family members to Islam, coincided with the destruction of the KeÅ¡avadeva temple.â [11], Gokula may have passed away but his death inspired many more rebellions among Hindus against the Mughal authority and these rebellions would eventually lead to the establishment of the famed kingdom of Bharatpur. Hindus of today need to remember and honor such heroes without whom our religion and culture would not have survived, hopefully many more Gokulaâs will be born among Hindus and will lift up the condition of our people.
Jai Durga Ma.
[1] Demeaning Shivaji, denigrating dharma - http://www.hvk.org/articles/0104/159.html
[2] Demeaning Shivaji, denigrating dharma - http://www.hvk.org/articles/0104/159.html
[3] Gokula turned History - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2530
[4] Sir Jadunath Sarkarâs âHistory of Aurangzeb â Volume iii, Pg - 332â
[5] Sita Ram Goelâs âHINDU TEMPLES WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, Volume II â Chapter 4â - http://voiceofdharma.com/books/htemples2/ch4.htm
[6] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2532
[7] Gokula turned History - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2530
[8] K R Qanungoâs âHistory Of The Jats - Jat History In Aurangzebâs Reign pp 20-22â
[9] K R Qanungoâs âHistory Of The Jats - Jat History In Aurangzebâs Reign pp 20-22â
[10] Gokula turned History - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/2530
[11] Sita Ram Goelâs âHINDU TEMPLES WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, Volume II â Chapter 4â - http://voiceofdharma.com/books/htemples2/ch4.htm
http://groups.msn.com/hindu-history/rawarc...543819933292192<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->