Pingali Venkayya (History)
Pingali Venkayya (History)
Why In News:
The nation observed the 150th birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya, the freedom fighter who designed the prototype of the Indian National Flag, with the Prime Minister paying tributes and highlighting the Flag's significance in India's constitutional and cultural identity.
Source: PIB, 2 August 2026, '150th Birth Anniversary of Pingali Venkayya'
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2293516®=48&lang=1
Who was Pingali Venkayya?
A freedom fighter, agriculturist and geologist from Andhra Pradesh, closely associated with the Indian National Congress in the early twentieth century.
Designed the prototype of the Indian National Flag and presented it to Mahatma Gandhi in 1921 at the Vijayawada session of the Congress.
His original design evolved over the following decades into the tricolour formally adopted as India's National Flag.
Evolution and Adoption of the National Flag
The present tricolour, with the Ashoka Chakra at its centre, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 July 1947, just before Independence.
The three horizontal bands are saffron (courage and sacrifice), white (truth and peace, bearing the Ashoka Chakra), and green (faith and chivalry).
The Ashoka Chakra, a 24 spoke navy blue wheel, is derived from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka and replaced Gandhi's original charkha symbol.
Legal and Constitutional Framework
Article 51A(a) of the Constitution casts a fundamental duty on every citizen to respect the National Flag.
The Flag Code of India, 2002 consolidates all laws, conventions and instructions on the display of the National Flag.
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 penalises disrespect to the National Flag and other national symbols.
In 2022, the Flag Code was amended to allow machine made and polyester flags, as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.
Har Ghar Tiranga was launched in 2022 under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to encourage flag flying in every household.