Pingali Venkayya (also known as Diamond Venkayya, Patti Venkayya, and Japan Venkayya) was a lecturer, author, geologist, educationist, agriculturist, and polyglot. He is often referred to as the “Father of the Tiranga.” He was an Indian freedom fighter and the designer of the Indian national flag. In 1921, he initially presented his design to Mahatma Gandhi, which included red and green stripes representing Hindus and Muslims, respectively, along with a white stripe for other communities.
Pingali Venkayya was born on August 2, 1876 (or 1878), in Bhatlapenumarru, near Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He hailed from a modest Telugu Brahmin family. His parents were Hanumantha Rayudu and Venkata Ratnam. He studied at Hindu High School in Machilipatnam and earned a diploma in geology from Madras Presidency College. He was proficient in many languages, including Japanese, Urdu, Telugu, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, and English.
Pingali Venkayya married a beautiful woman named Rukminamma, the daughter of the Karanam of Pamarru village. They had a daughter named Ghantasala Sitamahalakshmi, who passed away on July 21, 2022 at the age of 100, and a son, Chalapathi Rao, who died after struggling to get treatment.
Pingali Venkayya enrolled in the British Indian Army as a soldier and was deployed to South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899–1902) at the age of 19, where he met Gandhi for the first time. It was here that he realised the need for a national flag for India, as Indian soldiers were required to salute the Union Jack, the British flag.
After returning from South Africa, Pingali Venkayya attended the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in 1906 in Calcutta under the leadership of Dadabhai Naoroji. He was inspired to design a flag for the Indian National Congress, as he opposed the idea of hoisting the British flag at Congress meetings.
He worked as a lecturer at the Andhra National College in Machilipatnam from 1911 to 1944. He researched mica in Nellore from 1924 to 1944. He also authored a book titled Thalli Raayi on geology.
He earned the title 'Diamond Venkayya' for his expertise in diamond mining in Andhra Pradesh. In 1955, he published the renowned book on minerals and diamonds, The Mother of Diamonds. He was also called 'Patti Venkayya' (Cotton Venkayya) because he dedicated much of his time to researching staple varieties of cotton and conducted a detailed study on a variety called Cambodia Cotton. In 1913, he delivered a full-length speech in Japanese at a school in Bapatla, earning him the nickname 'Japan Venkayya.'
Pingali Venkayya died on July 4, 1963, in poverty. He spent his later years in financial hardship, and his last wish was to be covered with the tricolour national flag he had designed until his burial.
In 2009, the Indian government issued a postage stamp in his honour, and in 2012, his name was recommended for a posthumous Bharat Ratna. However, no formal response was received from the central government regarding the proposal. In 2014, the Vijayawada station of All India Radio was named after him. A statue of him was unveiled by the then Urban Development Minister, Venkaiah Naidu, in the forecourt of the All India Radio building in Vijayawada in January 2015.
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