NCERT to restore original ‘Dancing Girl’ of Mohenjo-daro in class IX textbooks

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has announced that it will restore the original, unaltered image of the Dancing Girl of Moh...

What Happened

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has announced that it will restore the original, unaltered image of the Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro in its Class IX arts education textbook, after the published version carried a digitally modified image with the figurine's bare torso shaded or obscured.
The controversy arose from NCERT's newly introduced textbook Madhurima for Class IX, which appears in the opening chapter "History of Arts"; the digitally altered image was described by scholars and educators as a distortion of an important cultural heritage artefact.
NCERT's Director confirmed the retouched version of Madhurima will be replaced with an image faithfully reflecting the original bronze figurine, which dates to approximately 2600 BCE and is one of the finest surviving artefacts of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
The Dancing Girl is a nude figurine; scholars noted that obscuring its anatomical details misrepresents the aesthetic, technical, and cultural significance of the original artefact, and sets a problematic precedent for the depiction of ancient art in educational materials.
The controversy occurs in the context of NCERT's broader curriculum revision under the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023, itself derived from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Static Topic Bridges

The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro

The Dancing Girl is one of the most recognisable archaeological discoveries from the Indus Valley Civilisation and is a landmark in the history of world art for its technical sophistication and naturalistic form.

Material: Bronze (a copper-tin alloy); also described as a copper alloy in some analyses
Fabrication technique: Lost-wax casting (cire perdue / Madhuchchishtavidhana in Sanskrit tradition), also called the Dhokra method — a process in which a wax model is encased in clay, then heated to melt the wax (leaving a cavity) and molten metal is poured in; the clay mould is broken after cooling to reveal the object
Age: Approximately 2300–1750 BCE (Mature Harappan phase, most commonly cited as c. 2600–2500 BCE)
Dimensions: 10.5 cm height × 5 cm width × 2.5 cm depth — a small figurine
Description: A nude female figure standing in a natural, confident posture with one hand on the hip; wears 24–25 bangles on the left arm and 4 bangles on the right arm, plus a necklace; her hair is tied in a bun
Discovery: Excavated by British archaeologist Ernest Mackay in 1926, in the "HR area" of Mohenjo-daro
Current location: National Museum, New Delhi — allocated to India at Partition in 1947 (Mohenjo-daro itself lies in present-day Pakistan's Sindh province)
Significance: Demonstrates that Indus Valley artisans mastered the technically demanding lost-wax casting process at least 4,500 years ago; the naturalistic pose reflects a sophisticated artistic sensibility distinct from contemporaneous Egyptian or Mesopotamian art

Connection to this news: The NCERT textbook's digitally altered image — which covered the figurine's torso — distorts the very features (naturalistic anatomy, confident posture, nudity as artistic expression) that make the Dancing Girl archaeologically and artistically significant.

Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC)

The IVC (also called the Harappan Civilisation) was one of the four early urban civilisations of the ancient world, coeval with Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.

Chronology:
Early Harappan: ~3300–2600 BCE
Mature Harappan: ~2600–1900 BCE (peak urbanisation; Dancing Girl belongs here)
Late Harappan: ~1900–1300 BCE (decline and de-urbanisation)
Extent: At its peak, extended across present-day Pakistan, northwest India, and parts of Afghanistan — an area larger than contemporary Egypt or Mesopotamia
Major sites:
Mohenjo-daro (Sindh, Pakistan): "Mound of the Dead"; discovered 1922 by R.D. Banerji; famous for the Great Bath, granary, and Dancing Girl
Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan): First discovered IVC site; coffin burials and granaries; excavated by John Marshall and Daya Ram Sahni in 1920s
Dholavira (Kutch, Gujarat, India): Fifth-largest IVC site; unique water reservoir system, three-part city layout, giant inscription with 10 large signs; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021
Rakhigarhi (Hisar, Haryana, India): One of the largest known IVC sites (~350 hectares); recent DNA studies have re-examined questions of IVC population genetics
Lothal (Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India): Oldest known dockyard in the world; maritime trade centre; National Maritime Heritage Complex planned at site
Kalibangan (Rajasthan, India): Evidence of pre-Harappan ploughed fields
Town planning features: Grid-pattern streets, covered drainage, standardised burnt bricks (ratio 1:2:4), Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro (public ritual bathing), granaries, two-storeyed houses
Script: Indus Script — approximately 400–600 signs identified; remains undeciphered as of 2026; written right-to-left (boustrophedon in some inscriptions)
Trade: Evidence of trade with Mesopotamia (Dilmun, Magan); lapis lazuli sourced from Afghanistan; carnelian beads exported

Connection to this news: The Dancing Girl, as a Mature Harappan artefact, embodies the artistic and technical achievements of IVC civilisation; its accurate depiction in textbooks is essential for students to understand this heritage correctly.

NCERT and Curriculum Framework

NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training): An autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education; established 1961; designs and publishes standard textbooks for Classes I–XII, which most CBSE-affiliated schools follow; also advises state boards
National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023: The overarching pedagogical framework guiding curriculum revision under NEP 2020; emphasises Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), multidisciplinarity, and reduced curriculum load
NEP 2020: Replaced the 1986 National Policy on Education; introduces structural changes including the 5+3+3+4 school structure, mother-tongue instruction in early years, and integration of arts education
Madhurima (Class IX Arts textbook): New textbook introduced under NCF 2023 curriculum for arts education at the secondary level; the Dancing Girl appears in the opening chapter on art history
Previous textbook controversies (NCERT): Deletions from Class XII history and political science textbooks (2022–23 revision) raised questions about the editorial process; the Madhurima episode is part of this ongoing scrutiny

Connection to this news: NCERT's decision to correct the image is a reassertion of academic fidelity; the episode raises broader questions about oversight processes in textbook content review before publication.

Antiquities Act and Archaeological Stewardship

Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972: Defines an "antiquity" as any object (coins, sculptures, paintings, manuscripts, etc.) that is more than 100 years old; prohibits export without a licence from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI); requires registration of privately owned antiquities
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI): Statutory body under the Ministry of Culture; mandated to protect, excavate, and conserve archaeological sites; oversees ~3,693 centrally protected monuments
National Museum, New Delhi: Houses the Dancing Girl among its collection; established 1949; holds collections spanning 5,000 years of Indian cultural history

Connection to this news: The Dancing Girl, housed in the National Museum, is a protected artefact of national importance; its reproduction in educational material must be faithful to the original.

Key Facts & Data

Artefact name: Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro
Material: Bronze (copper-tin alloy)
Casting technique: Lost-wax (cire perdue / Dhokra method)
Date: ~2300–1750 BCE; Mature Harappan phase (~2600–1900 BCE)
Dimensions: 10.5 cm × 5 cm × 2.5 cm
Discovery year: 1926; excavator: Ernest Mackay; site: Mohenjo-daro, Sindh, Pakistan
Current location: National Museum, New Delhi (allocated to India at Partition, 1947)
Bangles: 24–25 on left arm; 4 on right arm
NCERT textbook: Madhurima, Class IX Arts, Chapter 1 "History of Arts"
IVC Mature Harappan period: ~2600–1900 BCE
Dholavira: UNESCO World Heritage Site (2021); located in Kutch, Gujarat
Lothal: Oldest known dockyard; located in Gujarat
Indus Script: ~400–600 signs; undeciphered
Antiquities and Art Treasures Act: 1972; antiquity = objects >100 years old
ASI mandate: Archaeological excavation, protection, conservation; Ministry of Culture
NEP 2020 / NCF 2023: Framework under which Madhurima was developed