Did you know the designer of the Indian National Flag died in poverty?

Guwahati: The campaign ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ has taken India by a storm as Modi-Sarkar has pulled up socks to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the 75^th year of India’s Independence.

Under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged every Indian family to hoist the tri-colour to celebrate the 75^th year of India’s independence.

PM Modi even asked every Indian to change their profile photographs on social media platforms to tricolour to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Caught in the hype of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’, it is unfortunate that more than 99 percent of Indians don’t know who actually designed the ‘tiranga (the Indian National Flag)’.

Pingali Venkayya, a freedom fighter from Andhra Pradesh was the designer of our ‘Tiranga (the Indian National Flag)’.

He died in poverty in 1963 and has largely been forgotten by the Indians.

Pingali Venkayya was born on August 2, 1876, in a Telugu brahmin family at Bhatlapenumarru, near Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. He was a freedom fighter and a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi.

At the age of 19, he joined the British Indian Army and fought the Anglo-Boer war in Africa, where he met Mahatma Gandhi for the first time.

Pingali Venkayya designed the flag and presented it to Mahatma Gandhi during his visit to Vijayawada on April 1, 1921.

Initially, Pingali Venkayya presented a saffron-green flag to Mahatma Gandhi. Lala Hansraj of Jalandhar had suggested the addition of the Chakra, and Gandhiji had requested a white stripe.

Later, the flag was adopted as the Indian National Flag.

Pingali Venkayya was a linguist and even spoke Japanese.

He had a doctorate degree in Geology, and was an expert in diamond mining, and was nicknamed ‘Diamond Venkayya.’

A postage stamp was issued in 2009 to pay respect to Pingali Venkayya. And in 2011, it was proposed that Pingali Venkayya be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Unfortunately, there is no chapter on Pingali Venkayya in the school books, and the political masters are also taking too long to posthumously confer him the Bharat Ratna.