In 1906, during the opening of the Congress session in Kolkata, when President Dadabhai Naoroji hoisted the Union Jack, many patriots were disheartened. They wondered if our nation didn’t even have its own flag. Among those who were most affected was Congress Executive Member Pingali Venkayya. He resolved to design a national flag for India. His relentless efforts eventually led to the creation of our national flag!
Who Was Venkayya?
Venkayya was born in 1878 in the village of Bhatlapenumarru in Krishna District. He completed his education at Hindu High School in Machilipatnam and joined the military. The army sent him to South Africa to face the Boers. Witnessing the atrocities of the whites in South Africa made his blood boil. After returning to India, Venkayya worked as a plague inspector in Bellary for some time. Later, he traveled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) for further education. He enrolled in Colombo College, where he studied political science and economics, earning a degree.
After returning from Ceylon, Venkayya resigned from government service and plunged into the freedom struggle. While serving as a Congress worker, his education continued. He studied agriculture and developed a new cotton variety called “Cambodia cotton.” This effort earned him a fellowship from the London Agricultural Society. Venkayya also practiced art and taught at the Andhra State School of Art for some time.
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30 Designs of the Indian Flag!
After ten years of effort, Pingali Venkayya designed 30 different models of the Indian flag. In 1916, he published these designs in a book titled “National Flag for India” (“Manjaatya Patakamu”). Annie Besant, the President of the Indian National Congress (INC), congratulated Venkayya on his achievement. However, there was no consensus within Congress regarding the indigenous flag. Venkayya traveled extensively to promote his flag designs, earning him the nickname “Zanda Venkayya.”
In April 1921, under the orders of Mahatma Gandhi, Venkayya created the tricolor flag within three hours. Following Gandhi’s advice, he included the spinning wheel (charkha) in the center of the flag’s design. The INC adopted this flag as the national flag.
On December 31, 1929, at the Lahore session, the Indian tricolor flag was flown for the first time along the banks of the Ravi River. During this session, the declaration of complete independence was made. According to the session’s resolution, Independence Day was celebrated on January 26, 1930. When the tricolor flag proudly fluttered over the homes and buildings of Indians, Venkayya’s heart swelled with pride.
On July 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly, on the advice of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, replaced the spinning wheel in the national flag with the Ashoka Chakra emblem. This became the official flag of India. When India attained independence, Venkayya was bedridden. The elderly freedom fighter was forgotten. His name did not find a place in the records of the Indian government. He did not even receive a pension. His family sank into extreme poverty.
Confined to his bed due to illness, Venkayya passed away on July 4, 1963, expressing his final wish to see the tricolor fly over the Red Fort. After his tragic story was published in newspapers, the Andhra Pradesh government finally took notice. They named a road in Vijayawada after him and included his statue among the statues of Andhra heroes around Hussain Sagar Lake.
Translated version of Kannada article by Ashwini
(Courtesy: Taranga Weekly) 