India will be celebrating 67th republic day tomorrow that is Thursday . It is one of the three national holidays in India, other two being Independence Day on 15th of August and Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd of October. The Republic Day is celebrated to honor this date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act of 1935 as the governing document of India.
A flag is an identity of a country and from so many years we are respecting and carrying our national flag with pride and honour. The tri colour flag has become a part of our life and we feel proud when we see our flag going up in any international event. But How many people do know who has Designed…most of you dont even know this…He is SRI Pingali Venkayya Garu. Yes he is the man who designed our national flag. So celebrating republic day today let’s take a look to the life of Pingali Venkayya.
His origins
Freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya was born in Bhatlapenumarru near Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh (1876-1963). He joined the British Army with a patriotic zeal in the age of 19 and took part in the Anglo- Boer war in Africa. It was here that he met Gandhi and the rapport lasted for more than 50 years.
The conception of the The Tricolour
In the Indian National Congress conference held in Kakinada on March 31, 1921 Venkayya first conceived the idea of a National Flag. The version which he presented was a saffron and green flag . It was approved by Mahatma Gandhi with a few modifications in the year 1947. While Lala Hansraj added the Dharm Chakra( wheel of law) to it, Gandhi requested a white stripe.
The present flag was adopted during the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on July 22, 1947, just a few days short of India’s independence.
A Man With Different Names
Pingali Venkayya was also popularly nicknamed ‘Diamond Venkayya’, as he was an expert in diamond mining. He was also called ‘Patti Venkayya’ (Cotton Venkayya) , because he dedicated most of his time researching staple varieties of cotton and did a detailed study on a variety called Cambodia Cotton.
A Polyglot:
Pingali Venkayya was also proficient in many languages including Urdu and Japanese.
An educationist
Venkayya held a doctorate in Geology , he also set up an educational institution in his hometown Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The irony lies in the fact that there is not a single memorial in his honour in Machilipatnam, his hometown.
Always Down To Earth
The Gandhian lived in poverty his entire life and breathed his last in a hut in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.In the year 2009 a postage stamp was issued to honour his contributions for the freedom struggle.
