The word 're-opened' is added because India had extensive connections with the world long before European colonialism.

India traded with the Greeks and Romans over two millennia ago, with Indian goods like spices, cotton, ivory, gems, sandalwood, teakwood, and wootz steel being highly sought after in the Mediterranean world.

India was a vibrant economic and cultural powerhouse with extensive internal and external trading networks.

The phrase 're-opened' acknowledges that colonial rule did not create India's connections with the world but rather re-established them after a different fashion — though under conditions of exploitation and subjugation rather than equal partnership.

The colonial period opened India to European influence specifically, but India had always been connected to the broader world through ancient trade routes, cultural exchanges, and the spread of religions like Buddhism.