Brij Raj
Brij Raj (बृजराज), son of Khanchand, was a Jat chieftain of Sinsini who took lead in the movement of farmers against the Mughal rule after Gokula. Brij Raj and Bhajja Singh were brothers. Churaman was the son of Brij Raj and Raja Ram, of Bhajja Singh. Thus Churaman and Raja Ram were cousins. [1], [2]
History
Ram Swarup Joon[3] writes about Chhonkar and Sansanwal: This is the gotra of the Bharatpur ruling dynasty. Their original gotra is Yadu. As they settled down in a village called Sansani, they became known as Sansanwal. They raised their voice against the atrocities of Aurangzeb, protected the Hindu Dharma and established a new capital. One Yaduvanshi ancestor belonging to this gotra, named Brij Raj ruled over the territory called Brij after his name. These people had returned home from Dwarka and their capital was Mathura, in the 64th generation of King Brij Raj.
The decade following Gokula’s rebellion in 1669 corresponded with the period of a strong Mughal government. Aurangzeb, with the bulk of his forces, was present in the north. However, this period of effective control over the political affairs in the north also witnessed his growing religious persecution. Temple destruction went on briskly in the Empire, the Hindus were excluded from the public offices and the much hated Jizya was reimposed. Such step caused increasing bitterness among the non-Muslims and tended them to rebellion. Apparently the policy of Aurangzeb was preparing a background for the impending storm in the north. [4]
The Jats, though simmering with discontent, were constrained to remain quiet during these ten years. It is not difficult to trace the reasons for their general passivity. The bitter memory of their ruthless suppression by the imperialists had yet not faded completely form their minds. They must have been deterred also by Emperor’s general success against his enemies. Then again it is also likely that the Jats as yet were not able to make good their heavy loss suffered during the preceding encounter with the Mughals. Finally, they were perhaps disinclined to repeat the folly of a rash collusion with the Emperor, more so at a time when he had northern India tightly under his grip. [5]
The Jats were obviously looking for a suitable opportunity. This was provided by Aurangzeb’s departure from the north and his subsequent involvement in the unending Deccan Wars [6], [7], [8], [9]
The brief spell of an uneasy clam prevailing among the Jats was broken in the early eighties, when they rose in arms again. Its leaders changed, tactics varied and its fortunes fluctuated but the revolt once restarted was henceforth a continuous process, ultimately resulting in the overthrow of the Mughal authority in the suba of Agra and the establishment of Bharatpur State. [10]
The first leader of whom we are informed was Brij Raj of Sinsini (16 miles north west of Bharatpur) [11], [12], [13] In all likelihood it was this Brij Raj whom Manucci refers to as he leader. “ Oldest in age and the greatest in authority” of the farmers of Agra, Who raising their heads had withheld revenue due to the imperial treasury. [14] In order to force these villagers to pay, Aurangzeb sent Multafat Khan the faujdar of the environs of Agra with a strong force. Multafat Khan attacked a village, where the rebels had rallied together. Their leader first assured the Khan but later incited his people against him. “ Resolved to die rather than pay revenue” they came out and fought with such desperation that the force of the faujdar was routed. After humiliating him, they set free Multafat Khan who succumbed to his wounds on 26th June 1681 (19th Jamadi II, 1092 A.H.) 6 [15], [16], [17], [18]
Brij Raj also plundered passers-by and convoys on the roads. In 1682, a Mughal contingent pursued him upto his stronghold Sinsini, which was put to siege. The Jat Chief somehow succeeded in sending away his women from the fortress but was himself killed alongwith his son, Bhao Singh, while defending it [19], [20], [21], [22], [23] Sinsini fell into the hands of the enemy. Having fled form Sinsini the family of Brij Raj sought safety in a small and obscure mud fort (5 miles from Bayana). Here, one of the wives of Bhao Singh gave birth to a posthumous son, named Badan Singh. It is after the name of this personage that the garhi is still known as “ Badangarhi” [24], [25]
ब्रजराज
ठाकुर देशराज लिखते हैं कि जाट लोगों को इस बात पर तनिक भी निराशा नहीं हुई कि मुगलों ने उनका सिनसिनी का राज्य छीन लिया। उन्होंने ब्रजराज की अधीनता में संगठित होकर अऊ में रहने वाले मुगल थानेदार पर हमला कर दिया और अऊ को अपने अधिकार में कर लिया। केवल 200 को संख्या में इकट्ठे होकर सिनसिनी पर कब्जा कर लिया। ब्रजराज भी भज्जासिंह के परिवार का था। मुगलों ने फिर सिनसिनी पर आक्रमण किया। ब्रजराज अपने पुत्र भाऊसिंह के समेत वीर-गति को प्राप्त हुआ।
सिनसिनी उस समय कोई बड़ा राज्य न था, वह केवल 30 गांव का राज्य था। किन्तु मुगलों को जाटों का बड़ा भय था। वह समझते थे कि जाटों की शक्ति का बढ़ना हमारे नाश का कारण होगा। स्वतंत्रता के लिए इस समय युद्ध भी मध्य भारत में केवल जाट ही कर रहे थे। वे किसी लोभ और लालच से मुगलों के मित्र नहीं बनना चाहते थे।[26]
External links
References
- ↑ History of the Jats:Dr Kanungo, Ed Dr Vir Singh,2003, p.26
- ↑ U N Sharma, jaton ka navin Itihas, I, 342,180
- ↑ Ram Swarup Joon: History of the Jats/Chapter V,p. 78
- ↑ G.C.Dwivedi: The Jats - Their Role in the Mughal Empire, Ed Dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003,p.31
- ↑ G.C.Dwivedi: The Jats - Their Role in the Mughal Empire, Ed Dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003, p.32
- ↑ Storia,II,300
- ↑ Memores des Jats, 10
- ↑ Massir-ul-Umra,I,435
- ↑ Roznamcha, 133
- ↑ G.C.Dwivedi: The Jats - Their Role in the Mughal Empire, Ed Dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003,p.32
- ↑ Imperial Gazetteer, VIII, 75
- ↑ Ganga Singh, op.cit. 47
- ↑ U.N.Sharma, Itihas, I, 100f
- ↑ Storia, II, 209
- ↑ Ibid., 209-210
- ↑ Maasir, 209
- ↑ Massir-ul-Umra,II,282
- ↑ G.C.Dwivedi: The Jats - Their Role in the Mughal Empire, Ed Dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003,p.33
- ↑ Odier,3/25
- ↑ Waqa Rajasthan, 2/45
- ↑ Gokal Chandra Dixit, Brajendra Vansh Bhaskar, 18
- ↑ Sahyog March 15,1945
- ↑ Jat Jagat cited by U N Sharma, Ithas,I,186, f.n. 28
- ↑ Odier Settlement Report, Bharatpur, ref by Ganga Singh, op. cit.,47-48
- ↑ G. C. Dwivedi, The Jats: Their role in the Mughal Empire, Ed Dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003, p.33
- ↑ जाट इतिहास:ठाकुर देशराज,पृष्ठ-637
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