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'.

His journey of Flag Designing:

• 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.

Our Present Flag:

• 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.

Question:

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