India, June 15 -- The representation of the iconic Indus Valley Civilisation artefact known as the "Dancing Girl" in a new NCERT Class 9 arts textbook has triggered debate after observers noted that the figurine's bare torso appears to have been covered in the published image.

The image appears in Madhurima, NCERT's newly introduced Class 9 arts education textbook, in a chapter titled "History of Arts". Compared with photographs of the original bronze sculpture discovered at Mohenjo-daro, the textbook version shows visual alterations that obscure anatomical details of the figurine.

The development has raised questions because the same artefact appears in a form closer to the original sculpture in NCERT's Class 6 Social Science textbook....