Dancing Girl (Mohenjo-daro) (Art, Culture & Heritage of India)
Dancing Girl (Mohenjo-daro) (Art, Culture & Heritage of India)
Why In News:
NCERT is set to restore the original 'Dancing Girl' image in its textbooks after facing public criticism over the use of a modified or different image.
What is the 'Dancing Girl'?
Artefact Description: A bronze figurine approximately 10.5 cm tall, discovered at Mohenjo-daro during excavations in 1926.
The figurine depicts a young girl in a confident stance - often described as a dancer, though whether she was actually a dancer is debated by archaeologists.
Material and Dating: Cast using the lost-wax (cire perdue) casting technique - indicating a high level of metallurgical sophistication. Dated to approximately 2500 BCE. This is one of the earliest known examples of bronze casting in South Asia.
Current Location: The original figurine is housed in the National Museum of India, New Delhi. Pakistan also claims a stake in Indus Valley artefacts.
NCERT and Curriculum Significance
NCERT: National Council of Educational Research and Training. Constituted in 1961 as an autonomous organisation to advise the Central and State Governments on school education policies. NCERT textbooks are used widely across CBSE-affiliated schools.
NEP 2020 and NCERT Revision: Under the National Education Policy 2020, NCERT is revising its textbooks.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI): The custodian of protected monuments and sites in India, including Mohenjo-daro-type discoveries. ASI functions under the Ministry of Culture.
Lost-Wax Casting: Also called cire perdue. A metal casting process in which molten metal is poured into a mould formed around a wax model. When metal cools, the wax is melted out (lost).