I pretty much get the same feel as everybody else on this, and think of Malabar and the ayda katti, but something else came to mind. The ram dao which is more associated with Bengal, Assam and Nepal....it seems there was something a while back with an unusual bladed item something like this, and there were initials, which in three like this seem usually as noted British or European. In this case the item was I think from one of those areas during the British Raj, and from a plantation . It may have been a presentation or gift to the plantation owner and perhaps a utility type knife similar to the ram dao. The chrysanthemum type rosettes, while India seem SE Asian as well.
The 'tails' on the letters may be simply a linguistic fluorish simulating local language characters?
Just thoughts, interesting item.......the motif on the blade though does seem toward the ayda katti....so it is a real quandry.
All the best,
JIm
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