NCERT Class 9 ‘Dancing Girl’ book clothes to be ‘age appropriate’ raises questions
Mohenjo Daro “Dancing Girl” statue. Photo: ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/iemr101.pdf
The iconic bronze figure, known as the ‘Dancing Girl’ of Mohenjodar, has a bare torso covered in the latest National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) a class 9 art textbook that highlights the way one of India’s most famous archaeological artefacts is presented to students.
The image appears in the opening chapter of Madhurima’s ‘History of Art’, the new NCERT Class 9 art education textbook.
In the version shown in the textbook, the figure’s torso appears visually altered compared to photographs of the original artifact, with shading applied over the upper body to obscure the anatomical details visible in the statue.
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Unlike the altered image, the Dancing Girl in the NCERT Class 6 Social Science textbook appears in a form closer to the original bronze statue.
Michel Danino, who headed the textbook development committee for the new NCERT Class 6 social studies books, said he was told that the Dancing Girl figure was considered “age-inappropriate”. “This pertains to our Class 6 social studies textbook. The reason I was given was that the picture of the Dancing Girl was not age appropriate,” Mr Danino told PTI. “Our team disagreed; we even consulted with the Year 6 teachers and they told us there was never a problem with Dancing Girl,” he said.
Mr Danino added: “The notion that nudity is inappropriate is, in my view, an outdated Victorian view. Yet we are talking about the decolonization of Indian education.” In response to the image used in the new Grade 9 art textbook, Mr. Danino said his first response was disbelief.
“If the Dancing Girl cannot figure as it is and with the right proportions in a chapter on Indian art, then we have a serious problem,” he said.
Mr Danino said the modification “distorts the original artefact”. “The modification distorts the original artifact, just as the church’s addition of a fig leaf to Michelangelo’s statue of David in the Middle Ages distorted this beautiful work of art,” he said.
As for the figurine’s meaning, Mr. Danino said archaeologists offer different interpretations and that little is known about its context.
However, he noted that the same hip position was found on at least two sherds from the Harappan site of Bhirrana in Rajasthan, suggesting that it has “precise cultural value, probably artistic”. He also criticized the alteration of images of historical artifacts.
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“Unless it is clearly done to indicate a possible reconstruction of a partial artifact, changing such an image is tantamount to creating a fake artifact. It shows a serious lack of understanding of how historical artifacts should be displayed,” Mr. Danino said.
The chapter identifies the Dancing Girl as a bronze figurine from Mohenjodar from around 2600 BC
The textbook states that the bronze figurine from Mohenjo-Daro was made using a “lost-wax technique widespread in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh”. “This sculpture depicts a posture with one knee bent, one hand on the waist and a slightly raised chin,” he adds.
The chapter includes a discussion prompt that asks students what they think is depicted in the character’s pose. Another activity asks students to mimic posture and sketch a pose while imagining different foot positions.
The Dancing Girl, discovered in Mohenjodar, is one of the most famous artifacts associated with the Indus Valley Civilization.
NCERT has not publicly commented on the differences in the representation of the figurine in the two textbooks.
Published – 15 Jun 2026 13:12 IST