You pose a good question Jens. Over the years I have polished and etched many Indian blades. Interestingly, most that had blades burnished bright either had a very poor wootz pattern that was inconsistent and visually unappealing or they were pattern welded with faint or minimal pattern. So perhaps this was done to obscure that fact. The exception to this rule seems to be where the center of the blade or the fullers are left in etch showing the wootz or PW and just the edges burnished. These obviously done for the contrast and visual appeal of said contrast.
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