Abstract: Nationalist and Marxist historiography in India have tended to assume that the British colonial politics of land tenure, taxation and commercialisation which led the conditions for the formation the princely states in Indian Sub-continent. According to the available literature, there were about 565 princely states in Colonial India and their administration was run by the British through their appointed agents. Among these princely states, Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagarh were the important Princely states. At the time of partition and independence all these states were given the choice either to accede to India or to Pakistan or to remain independent. The foundation of Kashmir as a modern state was laid by the treaty of Amritsar, signed on 16th March 1846, between Maharaja Gulab Singh and the British, by which Gulab Singh had to pay seventy Five lakh rupees to the British. Up to 1947 the administration was run by the Dogra descendants on the lines of the British and finally Kashmir was acceded to India by signing the Instrument of Accession on 16th October, 1947. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the steps that were taken by the Dogra Maharajas in order to extend their territorial control and also the paper will also focus on Dogra state craft.