Pingali Venkayya’s Birth Anniversary

India is celebrating the 148th birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya on 2 August 2024.

The Father of the Indian Tricolour: Pingali Venkayya is credited with designing the original form of India’s national flag.
Early Life and Inspiration: Born on August 2, 1876, in a village near Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district, Venkayya joined the British Indian Army at 19 and served in the Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa. Inspired by a visit to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in 1906 under Dadabhai Naorogi’s leadership, he felt compelled to design a flag for the Indian National Congress as he opposed the use of the British flag at Congress meetings.
A Life Dedicated to India: Venkayya’s contributions extended beyond the flag. He was a teacher, author, agriculturist, and linguist. He even published a book titled ‘Bharatha Deshaniki Oka Jatiya Patakam’ (National Flag of India) in 1916.
Since 1921, Venkayya’s flag has been used informally at all Congress meetings. The flag was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947, just twenty days before India’s Independence.
The initial flag, called the Swaraj flag, consisted of two red and green bands, the two bands represented the two major religious communities — the Hindus and the Muslims.
Gandhi suggested adding a white colour band to represent peace and harmony between communities along with a spinning wheel to represent progress of the country.
Venkayya died in 1963, he was penniless and in poverty.

In 1906, during the Swadeshi and Boycott struggle, a flag of India was hoisted for the first time in the Parsee Bagan Square in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata).
In 1907, a similar flag with slight modifications was raised by Madam Bhikaji Cama in Paris.
In 1917, as a part of the Home Rule Movement, Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak hoisted another flag.
In 1921, at the Bezwada (now Vijayawada) session of Congress, a young freedom fighter Pingali Venkaiah, presented a design of a flag to Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1931, a formal resolution was passed adopting Pingali Vekaiah’s flag with a little modification. While the white and green remained, the red was replaced by saffron. The saffron was for courage, white for peace and green for fertility and growth.
Finally, in July 1947, the Constituent Assembly formally adopted the flag of free India.