NCERT to Restore Original Dancing Girl Image in Class 9 Textbooks

NCERT's new Class 9 textbook, Madhurima, has sparked controversy after it featured an altered image of the famous "Dancing Girl" statue from the Indus Valley Civilization. After the controversy, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has decided to restore the original image of the Harappan-era bronze figurine.

According to sources, NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said,

When this case came to me, the related departments were deployed for checking and, after discussion with experts, the department decided to replace the picture of the Dancing Girl published in the textbook with its original image.

What historians said?

Historians and experts say that the picture shown in the book is different from the original statue, and this may present a wrong picture of the historical heritage to students.

About Dancing Girl

The Dancing Girl is a 4,500-year-old bronze statue found in Mohenjo-daro. It is 10.5 cm in height. In the statue, a woman is seen with her hand on her waist, chin raised, and knee slightly bent.

It has many bangles and a necklace. According to experts, this statue is considered an excellent example of the art and craftsmanship of that time.

The statue’s upper body is completely nude, and the new books used shading and colours to cover some parts of the body. That is why the statue looks different from the original statue.

This image was published in the first chapter of the Class 9 history textbook, and when it was compared with the original figure, the controversy occurred. Interestingly, the NCERT Class 6 book shows an image very similar to the original image.

Digital edition to be corrected

The NCERT Director said that the correction is being implemented first in the digital version so that students and teachers have the correct image available. At the same time, the original photo of the Dancing Girl will be included in future revised printed editions.