The Princely State of Pathari was one of the native states of India which were administered by native rulers or Indian princes under the indirect control of the British Government of India. The princely state was under the administrative control of the Bhopal Agency, which was a sub division of the Central India Agency. The former British princely state was scattered over a total area of 78 sq km and comprised of a total population of 4,171 in the year 1941. Pathari state was one of the smaller princely states of India and included around twenty seven villages in the year 1941. Further more, the territory consisted of 2 small enclaves, which were segregated by the regions belonging to the distant district of Piklow in Bhopal. The princely state was bounded by Basoda in the west and by the British district of Saugar (Central Provinces and Berar) in the east.

History of Princely State of Pathari
The Barakzai dynasty was the ruling family of the state of Pathari, who descended from the founder of Bhopal, Dost Muhammed. The Muslim Royal House of Pathari was established in 1794 by a Pashtun of the Barakzai faction from Afghanistan. The ruling family was granted with the region of Pathari in the year 1807 through the arbitration of the British authorities. The Nawab of Pathari had his independent status revoked in 1921. Later in 1928, Pathari was separated from Gwalior and was recognized as a separate state. The Princely State of Pathari was a non- salute state and the native ruler, who held the title of Nawab, exercised the powers of a ruling chief. He was in charge of the supervision of the state's administration and management of the internal affairs. Pathari state did not pay any tribute to the British administration or to any other Indian princely state. The rulers of the princely state of Pathari held the style and title of Nawab. The last ruler was Muhammad Abdul Rahim Khan.

After the Indian independence and the withdrawal of the British administration, the last native ruler of Pathari acceded his state to the newly formed Dominion of India, also known as the Union of India. The erstwhile princely state was merged with the new state of Madhya Bharat, which was later incorporated to form the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh state on 1st November 1956.