Hm, I'm still not so sure. I agree the blade has the profile of a Kerala knife, but does the hilt? Isn't this sort of cleft "pommel" associated either with somewhere like the Balkans or something derived from a shasqua.
Has anyone seen this type of hilt on a knife that is indisputably keralan? Otherwise I would suggest Afghanistan is still a possiblity, or even further north into the other Central Asian "...stans".
Regards
Richard
PS. the top ferrule also rather reminds me of those often found on the scabbards of kindjals.
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