Context

August 2 is the birth centenary of the designer of the national flag, Pingali Venkaiah.

About

Pingali Venkayya

• Pingali Venkayya was a freedom fighter and the designer of the Indian National Tricolour who went on to become synonymous with the spirit of free and independent India.
• 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.
• A firm believer in Gandhian principles and an ardent nationalist, Venkayya met the Mahatma during the 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.