From ancient times India/Hindustan was considered a rich country and a prime target for the military adventurers. The inscription on 'Naqshe-Rustam' in Iran describes Hindustan Satrapy as the richest province of the Achaemenid Empire.
As a student of history, I have read detailed accounts of all the warlords who invaded the subcontinent from Alexander the Great to Ahmed Shah Abdali. In my view, Alexander was just a megalomaniac out to prove that he was a reincarnation of Greek Heroes such as Achilles & Hercules.
Mahmud Ghaznavi only wanted the loot. Mohammed Ghori attacked Punjab primarily to expand his kingdom by ending the remnants of Ghaznavid State based at Lahore. Ostensibly, he conquered Delhi because he was invited to do so by the Jai Chand of Qanuj who had a personal grudge against Prithvi Raj.
Chagatai Mongols & Amir Taimur, as well as Nader Shah Afshar, were also after the riches. Babur, after losing his inheritance to Shaibani Khan Uzbeck, was looking for a new country to capture and rule.
The last invader; Ahmad Shah Abdali, was perhaps the only one who crossed the Indus to punish the Hindu Marathas.
” Past present: When the empire crumbled"
Mubarak Ali , August 25, 2013 “
“When the Muslim nobles did not respond to his appeal, he called upon Ahmad Shah Abdali to help materialise his scheme. He urged Abdali that it was his religious duty to help and save the Muslims when the Marathas attacked them. Consequently, the Marathas were defeated in the third battle of Panipat in 1762. It failed to revive the Mughal power in the subcontinent but helped the East India Company to gain power as Shah Waliullah had overlooked the growing influence of the British in the subcontinent.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1038270
Therefore, IMHO, Abdali, despite all of his atrocities, is the only one who could possibly be considered a “Hero” for the Muslims of the subcontinent. In some ways, Alauddin Khilji can also be considered a hero of the Indian subcontinent because he defeated the Mongol invaders and thus saved the local population from the horrible onslaught.
All the others did not have any sublime/ esoteric mission to be regarded as a hero. They were not barbarians either. Their behavior was no different than other military adventures of the day.
Regrettably, the history as written in the textbooks and taught in Pakistan, as well as in India, is given a ‘Spin’ to reflect the bias of the rulers of the day. For example, I was reading history in 1956, when most of the text books in use in Pakistani schools had been written during the Raj. In the history that I studied when I switched to Islamia High School Rawalpindi from the St Mary’s; described 1857 event as “ Ghadar” meaning rebellion whereas nowadays the same event is called “ Jang-e Azadi” or fight for freedom.
However the above are my views and may not necessarily be correct.