Pingali Venkayya:141st birth anniversary

141st birth anniversary of freedom fighter and designer (architect) of the Indian National Flag, Pingali Venkayya was observed on August 2, 2018.

About Pingali Venkayya:

He was born on August 2, 1876 in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and died in 1963.
He was a firm believer in Gandhian principles and an ardent nationalist.
He was also a linguist, geologist and a writer.
At a young age, he served as a soldier in British Indian Army in South Africa during Anglo Boer war in Africa.
During his stint with the British Army, he had met Mahatama Gandhi in Africa.
He was 19 when the meeting took place and formed an association with Gandhiji which would last for more than 50 years.
After his return from Africa, he had most of his time researching about farming and cultivating cotton.
He even went on to study Sanskrit, Urdu and Japanese in an Anglo Vedic School in Lahore.
Such credentials had given him interesting titles like 'Japan Venkayya', 'Patti (cotton) Venkayya' and 'Jhanda Venkayya'.

Venkayya had published a book in 1916 offering thirty designs of what could make the Indian flag.
Throughout all Congress sessions between 1918 and 1921, he relentlessly put forward the idea of having a flag of our own in every session of the Congress.
Back then, he was working as a lecturer in Andhra National College in Machilipatnam.
He met Gandhiji once again in Vijayawada and showed him his publication with various designs of the flag.
Acknowledging the need for a national flag, Gandhiji then asked Venkayya to design a fresh one at the national congress meeting in 1921.
Initially, he came up with saffron and green colours, but it later evolved with a spinning wheel at the centre (representing a wheel of dharma and law) and a third colour that was- white.
This modified flag design was approved by Gandhiji and later officially adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1931.

India's National Flag (tricolor or तिरंगा) is based on the Swaraj flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.
It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on the 22 July 1947, a few days before India’s independence from the British.
The national flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of saffron, white and green, with Ashoka Chakra (24-spoke wheel) in navy blue at its centre.
Usage of national flag is governed by the Flag Code of India and other laws relating to the national emblems.
The flag code also governs the protocol of flying the flag and its use in conjunction with other national and non-national flags.

Q. Which freedom fighter designed the Indian National Flag?
a. Sarojini Naidu
b. Pingali Venkayya
c. Mahatma Gandhi
d. None of the above