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You assert however, that the desire to revive Islamic rule is an imperialistic pursuit. This could not be further from the truth. Imperialism is a form of subjugation which maintains disparity between the imperial power and its subjects. Western colonial endeavours provide a perfect example of this, India being an example with which you are all too familiar. Installing an administration that maintains a distinction between the occupier and the occupied, denying the indigenous population basic rights, assuming ownership of their resources, making them subject to the whim of the imperial rulers, their interests and administration, all are hallmarks of imperial power.
Islam, on the other hand, makes no distinction between Arab and non-Arab and grants neither superiority over the other. A point misplaced you may feel, but it is entirely appropriate when discussing Imperialism. Islam did not create a distinction between the initial carriers of Islam, the Arabs, and its recipients. Some of the greatest Islamic scholars and thinkers were neither Arabs nor the first to receive Islam from the Prophet of Islam (pbuh); they were later recipients of the Islamic message and drove some of the greatest advancements in Islamic legal, political, social and economic thought, as well as in language, science, medicine and technology. They contributed to key pillars of the Islamic civilisation, hailing from the far reaches of Spain, Central Asia and the Far-East. Neither did Islam maintain a hierarchy permitting only Arabs to rule, this right being extended to all races, nationalities and colours: the Ottoman State was a legitimate Islamic rule, regardless of its rulers being of non-Arab descent. This explains the vast array of peoples across the world who have embraced the Islamic ideology over history and who still maintain a firm and resilient association with it. Compare this to the former European colonies that fought for independence from their colonial masters and celebrated the day their lands were liberated of their presence. Islam is not the preserve of the Arabs: it is truly universal. It certainly does not seek to maintain a disparity nor a difference based upon an imperial class and its subjects.
Contrary to your view about discriminatory treatment of non-Muslims under Islamic rule, I would like to point out that Jews, Christians and any non-Muslim citizens of the Islamic state have guaranteed rights protected by the state, such as their life, honour and property. They are allowed to prosper through trade and are allowed to worship according to their own beliefs. In fact, Islamic rule does not discriminate people on the basis of their religion, but treats them as citizens of the state. Islamic rule is therefore for both Muslim and non-Muslim and so to depict it as a discriminating religious rule is wholly inaccurate, as it makes no distinction between faiths when it comes to the governance of society.
There are a number of examples of this, and quoting select examples from the Indian experience does not do justice to history. Jewish citizens of the Islamic State in Spain were provided sanctuary in Constantinople during the Spanish inquisition and as T. W. Arnold writes in his book 'The Preaching of Islam', concerning the Ottoman State: "...though the Greeks were numerically superior to the Turks in all the European provinces of the empire, the religious toleration thus granted them, and the protection of life and property they enjoyed, soon reconciled them to prefer the domination of the Sultan to that of any Christian power". There are examples throughout history that demonstrate how significant non-Muslim populations reside, to this day, in regions previously ruled by Islam - India included. One must not ignore mistakes made by individuals during Islam's thirteen hundred year rule in order to prevent their re-occurrence, but it is important to note however, that measuring Islam is not through the practice of a few individuals, but according to the ideals its sources articulate. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) prohibited, unequivocally, the ill treatment of non-Muslim citizens of the Islamic State (dhimmi’een) when he said "He who harms a dhimmi, it is as if he harms me".
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