• PM pays homage to Pingali Venkayya on his 146^th birth anniversary.

Who was Pingali Venkayya?

• Pingali Venkayya was a freedom fighter and the designer of the Indian National Tricolour.
• The national flag that we see today was based upon his design.
• Born on August 2, 1876 in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.
• Venkayya served as a soldier in the British Army in South Africa during the Anglo Boer war in Africa.
• He was a firm believer in Gandhian principles and an ardent nationalist.
• Venkayya met the Mahatma during the Anglo Boer war.
• He was 19 when the meeting took place and formed an association which would last for more than 50 years.
• He met the Mahatma once again in Vijayawada and showed him his publication with the various designs of the flag.
• Acknowledging the need for a national flag, Gandhi then asked Venkayya to design a fresh one at the national congress meeting in 1921.
• Initially, Venkayya came up with saffron and green colours, but it later evolved with a spinning wheel at the centre and a third colour-white.
• The flag was officially adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1931.

India’s National Flag – History:

1906:

• The first national flag, which consisted of three horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green, is said to have been hoisted on 7th August, 1906, at the Parsee Bagan Square, near Lower Circular Road, in Calcutta (now Kolkata).

1921:

• Later, in 1921, freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya met Mahatma Gandhi and proposed a basic design of the flag, consisting of two red and green bands.

1931:

• After undergoing several changes, the Tricolour was adopted as our national flag at a Congress Committee meeting in Karachi in 1931.

1947:

• The Indian flag was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22nd July 1947.

Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign:

• ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is a campaign under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to encourage people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s independence.
• Bringing the flag home collectively as a nation in the 75th year of independence thus becomes symbolic of not only an act of personal connection to the Tiranga but also an embodiment of our commitment to nation-building.
• The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and to promote awareness about the Indian National Flag.
• As government launched a Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, the Ministry of Home Affairs amended the Flag Code of India 2002 to allow for the national flag to be flown even at night.
• Earlier, the tricolour could be hoisted only between sunrise and sunset.

Model Queston:

Q. With reference to the Pingali Venkayya, consider the following statements:

1. Pingali Venkayya was the designer of the Indian National Tricolour.
2. He was a strong opponent of Gandhian principles.

Which of the statement given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer : A

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