(or Pinglay) Venkayya
The design of the flag of India that was first presented in 1921 to Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the All-India Congress, was created by Pingali (or Pinglay) Venkayya.
Pingali Venkayya was born on 2 August 1876 or 1878 at Bhatlapenumarru, near Machilipatnam,
in what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
His parents were
Hanumantha Rayudu and
Venkata Ratnam...
He studied at the Hindu High School in Machilipatnam,
but also spent his childhood in various places in the Krishna district like Yarlagadda and Pedakallepalli.
He married Rukminamma, the daughter of the Karanam of Pamarru village..
At the age of 19,
Venkayya had enrolled in the British Indian Army and was deployed to South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899–1902).
During the war when the soldiers had to salute the Union Jack,
the national flag of Britain, Venkayya realised the need for having a flag for Indians.
When Venkayya attended the AICC session in 1906 in Calcutta, he was inspired to design a flag for the Indian National Congress as he opposed the idea of hoisting the British flag at Congress meetings.
Various flags had been used by members of the Indian independence movement before independence was achieved in 1947.
Pingali Venkayya designed the National Flag and presented it to Mahatma Gandhi during the latter's visit to Vijayawada on 1 April 1921.
Venkayya's first draft of the flag was in red and green — the red
representing Hindus and green the Muslims living in the country.
On Gandhi's suggestion, Venkayya added a white stripe to represent all other denominations and religions present in India.
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
22 July 1947.
Venkayya was an agriculturist, as well as an educationist who set up an educational institution in Machilipatnam.
He died in relative poverty in 1963 and was largely forgotten by society.
A postage stamp was issued to commemorate him in 2009. In 2012, his name was proposed for a posthumous Bharat Ratna though there has been no response from the central government on the proposal...
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