Aimaq, Turkman and Uzbek – be forcibly removed from the frontier
and replaced by Pushtun colonists from the south. Yate called his policy
Afghanization and it appealed to the Amir, for had not Peter the Great
also implemented similar policies? At the same time, Afghanization killed
several birds with one stone. The mostly Durrani tribes who were relocated
to the region would have more loyalty to Afghanistan by dint of their ethnic
and tribal links with the ruling dynasty, a bond which was reinforced by the
distribution of free land, houses and grazing rights seized from displaced
populations. Furthermore, the presence of large numbers of Pushtuns in
the frontier meant there was a pool of military levies that could be called
up in emergencies. Afghanization was also an ideal way to relocate rebel-
lious Ghilzais as well as Kabul’s urban poor, another source of trouble, and
relocate them far away from the centre of power. Finally, the policy fed
‘Abd al-Rahman Khan’s views about the racial superiority of Pushtuns in
general and the Durranis in particular. 25
The first phase of Afghanization focused on the forcible relocation
of the Aimaq tribes of the Murghab and Badghis, but was eventually
extended to all regions from Maimana to Qataghan and as far south as
Pul-i Khumri and the Hari Rud. In the space of some three years between
100,000 to 200,000 Pushtuns were either forcibly or voluntarily relocated
from the Helmand, Kandahar, Ghazni, Nangahar and Kabul to the north-
ern provinces, with the result that the Pushtun population of the wilayat
rose from 4 per cent in 1884 to more than 30 per cent by the end of 1888.
Probably as many, if not more, Uzbek, Turkman and Aimaqs were forcibly
evicted from their homes and lands, without compensation, and dumped
down on marginal lands in the foothills of Badghis, Ghur and the Tir
Band-i Turkistan, the hinterland of Herat and the dasht around Balkh,
Pul-i Khumri and Qataghan. Other tribes left the country altogether: some
fled into Russian territory, others into Persian Khurasan or British India.
The new Pushtun colonists, or naqelin, found life in their new home far
from easy. The climate and environment of northern Afghanistan was very
different from what they were accustomed to, especially those tribes who
came from the warmer southern plains or subtropical Nangahar. The first
wave of settlers arrived at the onset of the bitter northern winter and with
fodder, grain and food in short supply, the price of basic commodities soon
rose steeply. As winter set in the nomads’ herds, unable to break through
the frozen ground, starved for lack of grazing, or died from exposure, new
strains of animal diseases, predation, or from eating unfamiliar, poison-
ous plants. Many colonists too died of influenza, pneumonia or exposure.
When summer arrived, malaria and sandfly fever took their toll, while
