Understanding Institutions in Practice: Narratives of Conflict Resolution Procedures
A number of Pashtun naqelin from the Eshaqzai tribe also settled in the Nahr-i-Gardana area. During Zahir Shah’s reign, additional Pashtun settlers from the Eshaqzai tribe migrated to Jawzjan from Kandahar and settled in the Jegdalek area with the support of the Hakeem of Jawzjan,195 who ended up marrying two of them. These new migrants are locally called mohajerin.196 On their arrival, they were provided with land for houses as well as 50 jeribs of government land for cultivation, which derived its water rights from the Jui Jegdalek. The Hakeem was also the father of Hajji Sher Mohammad, a powerful and respected large landowner currently living in Gardana.
2013
Map 6: Command areas of Jegdalek and Gardana
During the 1980s and the civil war, these villagers acquired some additional government land, turning pasture into rainfed land. Although this acquisition was not officially registered and approved by the government, it was tolerated. To secure their position, villagers also made payments to certain key government actors.197 The new acquisitions remained rainfed land until after the fall of the Taliban, meaning that there were no issues of water stealing for irrigation. As one respondent mentioned, “At the time we had more alternative sources of income, our sons were fighting for Junbesh.” During the 1990s (during the time when Junbesh was dominant), approximately 15 families of Uzbek mohajerin were relocated from Darzab District to Jegdalek after flooding had destroyed their houses. As in the case of the earlier Pashtun settlers, the land they received was only meant for building houses. However, over the years they also acquired additional government land, although this too remained rainfed until the early years of the Karzai administration. The start of water stealing In years after 2001, the water users from the mohajerin population began looking for additional water to irrigate their land, most notably the Uzbeks, who had no irrigated land or water rights. As one elder explained, “It was becoming more difficult to get additional jobs or sources of incomes, so the pressure on our agriculture land increased for us.” However, they were not able to acquire any additional water rights from Jui Jegdalek, doing so would have threatened the right of the longer-established Pashtun naqelin. Instead, both Pashtun and Uzbek mohajerin farmers began stealing water from the Nahri-Gardana. During the night, they would build a makeshift cross-regulator to raise the water level in Gardana main canal and channel water towards their land. The Gardana mirab would then remove these structures when he encountered them on his patrols or was informed about them by Gardana farmers. However, until recently the mirab and 195 The Hakeem of Jawzjan was also from the Eshaqzai tribe. 196 In this case, people in Jawzjan make a distinction between naqelin (usually older families settled around a century ago) and mohajerin migrants who were often displaced temporarily. In this particular case, the Eshaqzai tribesmen who migrated during the time of Zahir Shah were first expected to stay temporarily. Despite the fact that they ended up settling permanently in the area, the local population still refer to them as mohajerin. 197 Even nowadays, the mohajerin pay an informal fee as if the land was taken on lease, even though there are no land titles or contracts.
Water Rights and Conflict Resolution Processes in Afghanistan
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