Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan pays tributes to Pingali Venkayya
“This country will never forget his services as a freedom fighter. Tribute to the memory of that great man on the occasion of Jayanti,” YS Jagan said about Pingali Venkayya.
NEW DELHI — YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, on Monday paid tributes to the freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya on his birth anniversary.
In a tweet, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister said, “Pingali Venkayya Nitya Smaraniyulu, who universalized the reputation of the Telugu nation as the architect of the Indian national flag.”
“This country will never forget his services as a freedom fighter. Tribute to the memory of that great man on the occasion of Jayanti,” he said.
It would not be out of place to mention here that Pingali Venkayya was an Indian freedom fighter. He was a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi and the designer of the flag on which the Indian national flag was based.
He was born on August 2, 1876 at Bhatlapenumarru near Machilipatnam, in what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Pingali Venkaiah, who was from Krishna district, designed the National Flag and presented it to Mahatma Gandhi during the latter’s visit to Vijayawada city on April 1, 1921.
According to The Hindu, “Pingali Venkayya was an authority in geology, agriculture and also an educationist who set up an educational institution in Machilipatnam. He, however, died in poverty in 1963 and was largely forgotten by the society.”
A postage stamp was issued to commemorate him in 2009 and in 2011 it was proposed that he be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna. The decision by the Centre is yet to be taken on the proposal.
