The Jats of Mathura revolted against Mughal Tyranny. That was partly due to the fact that Abdun-Nabi-Khan, the Faujdar of Mathura (1660-69), oppressed the Jats very much and also offended their sentiments. The Jats revolted under the leadership of Gokal, a Zamindar of Tilpat, killed the Faujdar and plundered the Pargana of Sadabad.

Aurangzeb made preparations for an attack on the Jats and he proceeded against them. The Jats were defeated and Gokal was captured with his family. According to J. N. Sarkar, Gokal’s limbs were hacked off one by one on the platform of the police office of Agra.” His family was forcibly converted to Islam, 5,000 Jats lost their lives and 4,000 Mughal Soldiers were killed.

In spite of this, there was no peace. The new Faujdar of Mathura was a chip of the old block and he oppressed the people in the same way as Abdun-Nabi-Khan had done. The result was that the jats revolted once again in 1686 under the leadership of Raja Ram. They were so daring that they plundered Akbar’s tomb at Sikandara near Agra in 1688. Ultimately, Raja Ram was defeated and killed. The stronghold of the Jats was captured in 1691. However, the Jats carried on their struggle till the end of Aurangzeb’s life under the Leadership of Churaman.

Rebellion of Bundelas

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The Bundela Rajputs considered themselves to be safe on account of “dense forests, the rapid streams, and the steep hills of Central India.” Bir Singh Bundela had openly revolted against Akbar in 1602 and Akbar had failed to punish him on account of the guerrilla tactics of the Bundelas.

Champat revolted against Aurangzeb but he was so much hard pressed that he committed suicide. Chhatrasal, one of the four sons of Champat Rai, “lived to defy the Imperial Government with success.” He was hardly 11 at the time of his father’s death. He and his brother Angad were employed by Raja Jai Singh in his own contingent and were given promotions on account of their service in the campaign against Shivaji.

Chhatrasal was also employed by Dilawar Khan in the Mughal Attack against Deogarh. As he felt that his services were not being recognised by the Mughal Government, he “dreamt of taking to a life of adventure and independence in imitation of Shivaji which meant a defiance of the Mughal Government.” The people of Bundelkhand and Malwa hailed Chhatrasal as the Champion of the Hindu Faith and Kshatriya honour.” He won many victories against the Mughals and was able to set up an independent state in Eastern Malwa. He died in 1731 “with the complete effacement of the Mughal Rule in the Bundelkhand.”