NCERT’s Class 9 art textbook has sparked scrutiny for showing a modified depiction of the Mohenjo-Daro “Dancing Girl” from the Indus Valley Civilisation, with a darker tone and partially covered torso compared to the original bronze artefact. The matter has been referred to the textbook team for review, with no clear reason stated yet, reviving debate on historical representation.
New Delhi: The iconic "Dancing Girl" of Mohenjo-Daro, a 4,500-year-old bronze figurine that has featured in Indian school textbooks for decades, appears to have been altered in a newly released Class 9 art education textbook published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
Alteration in textbook depiction
The figurine, one of the most celebrated artefacts of the Indus Valley Civilisation, is depicted in a darker shade in the new textbook, with parts of the torso covered compared to its original form.
The image appears in a textbook that is part of NCERT's first-ever arts education series introduced for Classes 1 to 10 under the National Education Policy (NEP) and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF).
The initiative aims to integrate arts education into mainstream schooling. Textbooks from Classes 1 to 9 have been released so far.
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