To mark the birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya, the designer of India’s national flag, the Central government will release a special commemorative postage stamp on Tuesday, August 2.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the stamp at a programme in New Delhi, Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy said on Sunday. He revealed that the original flag designed by Pingali will be displayed at the event. The Central government has also invited family members of Pingali to the programme.

A postage stamp in his honour was released in 2009. Also, the Vijayawada station of All India Radio was named after him in 2014. And last year, his name was proposed for the Bharat Ratna by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. 

Who was Pingali Venkayya?

Born near Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) on August 2, 1876, Pingali had designed many models of the national flag. In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi approved a design during the Indian National Congress meeting in Vijayawada. The national flag that we see today was based upon his design. 

Venkayya was a fervent freedom fighter and the designer of the Indian national flag who went on to become synonymous with the spirit of free and independent India. 

He was a farmer, a geologist, a lecturer at the Andhra National College in Machilipatnam, and fluent in Japanese. He became instantly famous as `Japan Venkayya`.

In 1916, he published a booklet titled `A National Flag for India`. It not only surveyed the flags of other nations, but also offered 30-odd designs of what could develop into the Indian flag.

(With inputs from agency)

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