I get it. You mixed data from 2001 with 2011 in your map.
I would be thanful if you would share.
When we are on the mater asking if you have 1961 or any quality basepam for first yugoslavia wouldn't be to much to ask
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I get it. You mixed data from 2001 with 2011 in your map.
I would be thanful if you would share.
When we are on the mater asking if you have 1961 or any quality basepam for first yugoslavia wouldn't be to much to ask
Krall
Banned
It's cool; we were all "noobs" once.
Crossposting my entry for the most recent MotF:
"Never a Pawn in Someone Else's Game"
(Someone had set a challenge (or rather, a dare) to make an Afghanistan-wank for a previous MotF, which I accepted but never completed, mainly because I wanted to put too much detail on the map and gave up. Thankfully, this meant that I had most of the legwork done when I returned to the idea for this round.
The history behind this map involves Amanullah Khan - the first king of the modern and independent Kingdom of Afghanistan - breaking with the Soviets earlier, thereby preventing British agents from attempting to undermine his "pro-Soviet" regime. Instead, Amanullah plays the Soviets and Britain off each other. He antagonises them both for their oppression of Muslims, but never outright denounces either side in favour of the other. His vocal support for his fellow Muslims in Central Asia and India keeps the more conservative and radical members of his realm on his side.
Under Amanullah Afghanistan gradually shifts to be more democratic and free, with many Islamic rules being removed from the lawbooks (though people remained free to follow these rules). Afghanistan is seen as a shining example of what an independent Islamic state might be, and as the Indian independence movement gains more momentum many Pashtuns believe that joining with Afghanistan would be the best choice, rather than joining a newly independent India or Pakistan.
The Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre (link) happens similarly to our timeline, with the Indian National Congress and Amanullah Khan denouncing the actions of the British. The Pakistan Movement, however, denounces the protesters for attempting to split the Muslims of India into several nations. This heartlessness in the face of tragedy causes support for the Pakistan Movement to melt away, eventually becoming no more than a forgotten dream.
When Indian independence does come about, Pashtun regions on the border of Afghanistan are given the option to join with the kingdom, which they do willingly. A number of Muslim regions around the borders of India choose independence, whilst most of the country opts for union.
With the Second World War over and British India free, Afghanistan starts to shift towards the West. The aging Amanullah spends his last years touring Europe and America, portraying the kingdom as "The Eastern edge of the West" and therefore a vital area for any global anti-Soviet strategy.
Afghanistan's vast untapped natural resources are quickly developed, with national agencies providing subsidies and the appropriate infrastructure. The Afghanistani Rail Administration is one such national agency, and played a vital role in developing Afghanistan into the rich, free country it is at the start of the new millennium.
Trivia:
- The map title comes from the quote "We will never be a pawn in someone else's game. We will always be Afghanistan." by Ahmad Shah Massoud in Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda by Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo.
- The text in the box in the upper-left reads "The railroad administrator for Afghanistan is the Afghanistani Rail Adminitration (ARA). Indian gauge (1,676 mm) is the national standard, with areas of dual Indian/Russian (1,520 mm) gauge where the rail network connects with Turkestan. Standard gauge (1,435 mm) is often used in mining, but is becoming less common.".
-Indian gauge was chosen as the national standard in order to ease trade between Afghanistan and Indian countries, so that Afghanistani goods could easily reach a port (and, conversely, foreign goods could easily reach Afghanistan).
-Iran uses Standard gauge, but has some extensive Indian gauge railways in the east where it connects up with Afghanistan's rail network.
-The text in the bottom right corner reads "DNI International Almanac - 2000". The DNI is the Directorate of National Intelligence, which is this timeline's CIA equivalent, and the International Almanac is their version of the World Factbook. For this reason the map uses the term "railroads" (which is usually American) rather than "railways" (which is usually British").
-The capital of the Kingdom of Afghanistan is Darulaman. Amanullah Khan started plans to build Darulaman in our timeline, but this plan was cut short by pesky radical conservatives (in this timeline Amanullah's earlier break with the Soviet Union prevents the British from provoking these radicals into rebellion).
-Iran, Balochistan, India, and Turkestan are republics, with Jammu and Kashmir remaining an isolated, monarchical state (they're not particularly oppressive, though, just underdeveloped). Though neither Turkestan or Iran are Islamic Republics, they are becoming increasingly radical - and not in the "doing a kickflip through a burning hoop" way.
Alex Richards
Donor
You know, I thnk that's the same font I used for my AH Afghanistan map on that basemap.
Though that was more of an Afghan-screw unlike your Afghan-wank.
Though that was more of an Afghan-screw unlike your Afghan-wank.
It's cool; we were all "noobs" once.
Crossposting my entry for the most recent MotF:
I'm a bit confused, if the Pashtuns in the Raj all wanted to join Afghanistan, how come only such a small amount of them did?
Actually, looking at it, Baluchistan would probably be about 40-50% Pashtun itself as a result.
What's preventing India from taking Jammu and Kashmir in such a scenario? And why does Baluchistan opt for independence over joining Afghanistan or India?It's cool; we were all "noobs" once.
Crossposting my entry for the most recent MotF:
Krall
Banned
You know, I thnk that's the same font I used for my AH Afghanistan map on that basemap.
I'm not sure what basemap you're talking about - I honestly wouldn't be able to tell what basemap I used from the finished product alone - but the font I used for the city name text was Constantia, whilst the "GIANT CURVED COUNTRY NAMES IN ALL CAPS TO LOOK EPIC" text used SimSun.
Though that was more of an Afghan-screw unlike your Afghan-wank.
Well I do like to give underappreciated countries positive attention, when I can!
Well, the regions that joined Afghanistan are what are now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (historically known as the North West Frontier Province). These areas are majority Pashtun and, in 1951, had a combined population of about 6 million. Balochistan (which covers almost exactly the same area as OTL's Balochistan province in Pakistan) had a population of about 1.2 million in 1951 - if one assumes about 40% of those are Pashtun and another 40% are Balochs (roughly true of modern Balochistan), then only about 500,000 Pashtuns did not choose to become part of Afghanistan in this timeline. (Note: Figures are all from Wikipedia).
It's possible that the Pashtuns in this region stuck with the Pakistan movement whilst the Pashtuns in the NWFP switched to favouring union with Afghanistan, due to the closeness of the Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre, which was in Peshawar. When the time came to vote on the partition, support for the Pakistan movement elsewhere would have dwindled to the point where it was no longer a viable option, leaving the Pashtuns of the area to opt for the closest equivalent - an independent, majority Muslim state in union with the Balochs.
In this timeline Amanullah Khan also attempted to promote a united Afghanistani identity, rather than Afghanistan being a nation of the Pashtuns for the Pashtuns, in order to quell possible rebellion from the various Uzbeks, Tajiks, Aimaks, Balochs, Haraza, Turkmen, Nuristani, etc. that shared the country with them. Amanullah was also very "liberal" and religiously tolerant, which may have offended many more conservative Pashtuns. This may have isolated enough Pashtuns for a majority of those in Balochistan to favour independence over union with Afghanistan.
1. Jammu and Kashimir's ruler opted for independence at the partition of India, and the Union of India was too disorganised initially to take it by force. The prevailing political movements in India are generally pan-Indian (in that they support working together with other countries formerly part of British India, and ex-colonial states in the general vicinity) and pacifist, and taking Jammu and Kashmir by force would go against both of those ideals.
Such an invasion would also be unprompted, as Jammu and Kashmir isn't exactly oppressive, just economically isolationist (which it has in common with India), so relatively few people are calling for union with India and those that are are doing so non-violently. As a result such an invasion would result in massive backlash in the international community, as well as a lot of unrest in India itself, and it would lead to India trying to hold on to a large province with poor infrastructure and a population that generally hates them.
In short, it is morals - both those of Indians and those of others - that prevent them from taking Jammu and Kashmir by force.
2. Residual support for the Pakistan movement (it didn't disappear; it was just much, much less popular than it was in OTL) and a growing sense of Baloch national identity caused the people of the region to opt for going it alone. As I said to Iori, the Pashtuns of the region were generally less pro-union (either with India or Afghanistan) due to their distance from the massacre in Peshawar, and possibly due to Amanullah Khan's insistence that Afghanistan would not be a nation of the Pashtuns for the Pashtuns, as well as his liberal beliefs and campaign of religious tolerance.
Well I do like to give underappreciated countries positive attention, when I can!
Afghanistan? Underappreciated? Bah! It has that whole "no-one can ever conquer it, ever" meme going for it.
Except for Alexander. And the Persians. The Mongols. Timur. The Mughals. Etc, etc.
It only becomes unconquerable after the Durrani Empire.
Krall
Banned
Well, that's roughly true; it is very difficult to conquer Afghanistan... unless you are the Mongols.
Somebody watches Crash Course!Well, that's roughly true; it is very difficult to conquer Afghanistan... unless you are the Mongols.
The Persians, Alexander the Great, the Mauryans, the Yuezhi, the Kushans, the Timurids, the Durrani, etc. etc. etc. would like to have a word with you...
Krall
Banned
Somebody watches Crash Course!
Damn straight! The series is almost over now - episode 42 will be the last. I hope there's another season of it later, though; I'd love for them to give more in depth information about the many interesting points of history.
Somebody should make a motivational poster for that: "The Durrani: ruining Afghanistan for everyone else."
Bruce
I dunno - just doesn't have the same ring to it as "I'm in ur fridge, eating ur foodz".
Didn't a good chunk of them start in the area though?The Persians, Alexander the Great, the Mauryans, the Yuezhi, the Kushans, the Timurids, the Durrani, etc. etc. etc. would like to have a word with you...
Fixed it for you
Depends on what you mean by "the area". I'd say only the Durrani and the Kushans qualify, and the latter are up for debate.
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