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Behind the Story: The Four Butchers of Cawnpore

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  The Massacre at the Bibighar   The four Butchers of Cawnpore is set several years after the Indian Mutiny/Rebellion. I use the separating slash because the incident is called differently depending on your perspective. To the English, the Indian sepoy troops under their command committed mutiny when they attacked British forces and holdings in India. These were disloyal soldiers. To the Indians, it was a rebellion against an oppressor who had stolen their country. Today many Indian historians refer to it as the First War of Independence, and it is celebrated as a national holiday.   Many atrocities on both sides occurred during the revolt. One of the worst was the massacre at the Bibighar.   The Indian Mutiny of 1857 Map of British expansion in India in the 19th century. Cawnpore is in the north along the Ganges. In 1857 Indian soldiers, native rulers and thousands of ordinary people rose up against the British East India Company. The Company, as it was known, came in to bei