Ministry of Culture organized “TirangaUtsav” to celebrate the contribution of Pingali Venkayya to the nation on the occasion of his 146th Birth Anniversary

Source: The post is based on the article “Ministry of Culture organized “TirangaUtsav” to celebrate the contribution of Pingali Venkayya to the nation on the occasion of his 146th Birth Anniversary” published in PIB on 2nd August 2022.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Culture organized “TirangaUtsav” to celebrate the contributions of Pingali Venkayya to the nation on the occasion of his 146th Birth Anniversary.

The commemorative Postal Stamp in the honor of Pingali Venkayya was also released during the event.

Who was Pingali Venkayya?

Pingali Venkayya was a freedom fighter, designer of India’s National Flag and a follower of Gandhian principles.

He was born on 2nd August 1876 into a Telugu Brahmin family in Bhatlapenumarru, Madras Presidency, British India (today’s Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh).

He was also known as Patti Venkayya because of his research into Cambodia Cotton. Patti means ‘cotton’, which was very important for Machilipatnam, a former port city that became famous for its Kalamkari handloom weaves.

Contribution to National Flag

Venkayya designed several models of national flag starting from the one designed in 1921 which was approved by Mahatma Gandhi at a Congress meeting in Vijayawada. 

This version consisted of two red and green bands; the two bands represented the two major religious communities — the Hindus and the Muslims. The flag also had a charkha which represented Swaraj. On the advice of Mahatma Gandhi, Venkayya added a white band which represented peace. 

In 1931, concerns were raised about the religious aspect of the flag. Keeping that in mind, a Flag Committee was set up. The committee replaced the red with saffron and changed the order of the colours with saffron on top followed by white and then green. The charkha was placed on the white band in the middle.

The colours now stood for qualities and not communities; the saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and peace and green for faith and strength. The charkha stood for the welfare of the masses.

Post-Independence, a national flag committee under President Rajendra Prasad replaced the charkha with the Ashok Chakra.