[Jim McDougall]

Nihl,
Thank you so very much for your well detailed and thought out response, and I hope I can do so in kind. I would like to say that this information and these examples have prompted me to look further into my perspectives and seek more insights from personal contacts who are far better versed in Indian arms than I am.

First of all, while the centrally riveted cross guard on tulwars of Afghanistan and its northern environs is somewhat intrinsic in the hilt designs of these regions, it is not necessarily confined to nor entirely consistent in these areas. In looking further into this type of feature as far as its use elsewhere in India, it is important to consider that an evident rivet so placed in a hilt is most often the result of refurbishing of a weapon and securing the hilt. These processes and such placement of a central rivet in the guard therefore are widely known, and my suggestion that this feature had a distinct regional classification was incorrect and invalid, as would it be to presume it would apply in that manner anywhere overall.
Often it may be considered that such a fixture might suggest refurbishing of a weapon completed as a 'field repair' or by someone not necessarily highly skilled in finer metal work.

The Roy Elvis volume, as you have noted, is quite comprehensive , and as you also indicate, the precise date, place and classifications are without explanation. Without supportive data these become rather arbitrary, especially in regard to Indian arms, which require more concise definition due to the notable dynamic nature of their forms, variation and decoration. You are well on point to note that in many (perhaps most) proper identification of Indian weapons relies on decorative motif, in style and execution.

With the diffusion on weapon forms in India, it is therefore unlikely to formally and precisely identify or classify any particular one to any specific region entirely. Therefore the denominators so often used Deccani, Tamil, Mughal, Rajput, Sikh etc . in describing Indian weapon examples are often vague if not often misleading, with the terms 'northern' and 'southern' even more profoundly so.

I recall a conversation with an author of a book concerning Sikh arms, and asked ( embarassingly) how to identify if a weapon was Sikh. He wryly responded, "if a Sikh used it...it is Sikh!". It was a most telling response which showed as I later realized, how formidable the task of proper identification of Indian arms really is, as simple and precise classification without qualification or explanatory detail is not always reliable.

Very well noted insight into the elements of the colonization of India, which as you describe began in the south with the East India Company, as well as the unfortunate system of confiscation of Indian arms and wholesale destruction of them. Some of the descriptions of this are well described in narratives of the latter 19th c. and it is excruciating to imagine how many key and important weapons were destroyed.
Were it not for writers like Egerton and some of his contemporaries we would have even less understanding of these amazing weapons.