Bharatpur

Princely States

Sinsini is one of the many Jat estates in the area and the word Sinsini is traditionally considered as a word of Shurasena relating to the Vrishni Yadava clan. Sinsini seems to be one of the earliest Jat Zamindaris to rebel against the Mughals - in 1627, Bhuri Singh and his son Ruria Singh rebelled against the Mughals but were subdued. Though the burden on the peasantry was heavy, starting from around 1645 coinciding with the wars in the Deccan and Ahom Country, new taxes were imposed on the peasants. These taxes would only increase with time and on the other hand, reimposition of Jaziya and the increasing financial unviability coupled with frequent droughts made the situation even worse. By 1680s, the situation of the farmers relating to these taxes was that worse that they were not in a position to carry out cultivation, and on the other hand, the economic unviability of the activity meant that there is no moneylender ready to come to their aid. It is also known that with the peasants leaving the village, the whole burden of taxation fell on the farmers who were still in the village. With the demands from the top to fulfil their dues, the pressure fell on the Bhumias or the Zamindars and this would lead to roving parties sent by the Bhumias to collect their cess and this would scare the peasants to flee is another dimension of the same aspect. This coupled with the excesses of the officers forced the peasants to complain to the Subahdar of the area and to the Diwan of Amber but without much success. Coinciding with the peak of Maratha War, we would see a massive famine raging in the area between 1694 and 1698. On the other hand, one would notice Amber becoming a direct beneficiary through conversion of Zamindari lands to Khalsa and receipt of additional parganas from the Mughals to contain the discontent. On the other hand, the wanton destruction of the temples of Mathura coupled with their womenfolk being taken away made this only more personal.

Thus we would see both the peasants and the Zamindars suffering in the hands of the government officials for collection of revenue and to uphold their religion, and we would see rebellions both from the Zamindars and from the peasants, starting from 1665. One such rebellion was by the Jat Zamindar of Talpat, Gokula in 1666 when he rebelled against the excesses of Abdul Nabi, the governor of Mathura and killed him. With situation turning out of control, an all out war was waged against the Jats - after a brutal war near Tilpat, Gokula was captured and hacked to death. On the other hand, Rajaram, the Zamindar of