Hyderabad, June 15 -- A 4,500-year-old bronze figurine that has appeared nude in Indian school textbooks for nearly three decades has been digitally altered in NCERT's newly released Class 9 arts textbook, its torso shaded over to give the impression it is clothed.

The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro, one of the most recognisable artefacts of the Indus Valley Civilisation, features in the opening chapter of Madhurima, a new arts education textbook for Class 9. In the version printed in the book, the figurine's body from the shoulders down has been darkened, concealing anatomical details that have never been obscured in previous editions.

The original statuette, just 10.5 cm tall, nude except for bangles and a necklace, has been housed at t...