Coming to the OPs original question, most non-muslim Indians have a very negative feeling of the muslim domination (I will not use the word muslim rule) of the Indian subcontinent. I'm a non-hindu Indian, but I feel the Islamic conquest of India almost wiped out the ancient culture and civilization, especially in north India. I come from South-West coast of India which was never really under any muslim ruler except for a very brief period under Tipu Sultan. However, there are significant proportion of the population there who are muslims, who are basically descendants of Arab traders. The Islamic influence in the culture of my hometown is very much present, and we accept it as a part of our own.
Prior to Islamic invaders, there were other others invaders viz. Aryans, Greeks, Huns, Scythians etc. who came to this land. But they all got assimilated into the melting pot called India, and their cultures, traditions and religions got merged into the native cultures, traditions and religions enriching the land called India. But the Islamic invasion was a whole new thing to India. For the first time in India, wars were fought for loot and plunder and spread of an alien religion & culture, at the cost of local culture. Up until the Islams entry into India, India was great center of human creativity. Arts, culture, science, mathematics, surgery, medicine, astronomy, philosophy etc. were flourishing in India (which the muslims/Arabs repackaged and sold it to others as their own). There were many centers of learning, like Nalanda university. People & society were open in their thinking and lifestyle (Ex. Kamasutra, temple sculptures). Women had more freedom and greater role in the society. After the Islamic invasion of the subcontient, many of the negative aspects of Indian/Hindu culture got institutionalised. Purdah and Sati (especially in societies which bore the brunt of the Islamic invasion in Rajastan, Gujarat, Punjab etc.) became more enforced. Caste system got more rigid. With the advent of Islam, India suddenly seemed to run out of its creative energy. The whole of islamic period didn't seem to produce any creative work, except for some islamic monuments, which were built at the cost of the native people.
People can debate endlessly regarding the duration of the 'Islamic rule' in India, but the basic fact remains that for the most part of that history the muslims in India was confined to cities and urban centers, especially in central and Deccan India. The foreign muslim rulers only formed the top part of the power pyramid, with the base grass roots power still residing with the non-muslim natives. Islamisation of the society only started in the later part of the Mughal rule.
Even though 'muslim rule' is seen as retrogressive my most Indians who are aware of the history, we still still accept it as a part of our history and culture. When Islam arrived in India, India was a progressive country and Islam was seen as backward culture coming from Arabia and central Asia. But Indians were too over confident about their strength, too complacent and too divided to see the external threat which would endanger their very way of life.
The flexibility of the Hindu culture is both its strength and its weakness. The ambiguities within the Hindu philosophy causes divisions among the people which the outsiders can easily exploit. On the other hand, the immense ability to absorb new ideas and cultures and flexibilty to absorb blows makes it a survivor and that is the reason that majority of the Subcontinent is still non-muslim and the survival of the one of the oldest human civilization. Islamic dominance of a few centuries is only a part of the 5000years history of the Indian civilization. At the end of the day, irrespective of whether it was good or bad, we take the Islamic phase of our history in our stride.
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