Pingali Venkayya Biography: Indian liberation fighter and Gandhian Pingali Venkayya (2 August 1876/8 – 4 July 1963). The flag on which the Indian National Flag was based was designed by him. In addition, he was a lecturer, author, geologist, educator, agriculturist, and polyglot.
Pingali Venkayya Biography
Early years
Pingali Venkayya was born on August 2, 1876 or 1878 in what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh at Bhatlapenumarru, close to Machilipatnam. Hanumantha Rayudu and Venkata Ratnam are his parents. He attended the Hindu High School in Machilipatnam, but also spent his youth in Yarlagadda, Pedakallepalli, and other locations in the Krishna district. He married the daughter of the Karanam of Pamarru village, Rukminamma.
He joined the British Indian Army at the age of 19 and was sent to South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899–1902), where he first encountered Gandhi. During the conflict, when soldiers were required to salute the Union Jack, the British national flag, Venkayya realised the need for an Indian flag.
Career
Venkayya received a certificate in Geology from Madras Presidency College. He taught at the Andhra National College in Machilipatnam from 1911 to 1944. From 1924 to 1944, he conducted research in Nellore on mica. He also authored a geology book titled “Thalli Raayi.”
As an adept in diamond mining, Venkayya was also commonly known by the moniker ‘Diamond Venkayya’. He was also known as ‘Patti Venkayya’ (Cotton Venkayya) because he devoted the majority of his time to researching staple varieties of cotton and conducted a comprehensive study on a variety known as Cambodian cotton. He was proficient in a number of languages, including Japanese and Urdu. In 1913, he gave a lengthy speech in Japanese at a school in Bapatla. From that point on, he was also known as ‘Japan Venkayya’
Death
Venkayya lived modestly in accordance with Gandhian principles and perished in relative poverty in 1963. Ghantasala Seetha Mahalakshmi, the daughter of Venkayya, died on 21 July 2022 at the age of 100.
In 2009, a commemorative stamp honouring Venkayya and the first flag was issued. In 2014, the All India Radio station in Vijayawada was named for him. His name was proposed for a posthumous Bharat Ratna in 2012, but the central government has not responded to the proposal.
In 1992, the then-chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao, had a statue of Venkayya, one of 31 state symbols, erected on Necklace Road in Hyderabad. In January 2015, the then-Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu unveiled a statue of him in front of the All India Radio building in Vijayawada. Multiple statues of Venkayya have been constructed throughout Andhra Pradesh.
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