Venkayya’s last wish was to have his body draped in Tricolour | India News – Times of India

VIJAYAWADA: Pingali Venkayya, who created the design of the Tricolour, was born on August 2, 1878 — exactly 146 years ago to this day. Venkayya never had an easy life. He would go on to become a teacher, agriculturist, author and linguist, but somehow struggled to make ends meet.
While he refused to cash in on his reputation as the man behind the Tricolour, Venkayya’s pride in his creation didn’t dim till his death on July 4, 1963. His last wish was to have his body draped in the Tricolour till the burial ground. He then wanted the flag to be tied to a tree until his funeral was completed.
Growing up in rural Andhra Pradesh, freedom and Gandhian non-violence had been the last things on young Venkayya’s mind. He was attracted to the armed forces, and joined the British Indian Army at the age of 19. He participated in the Boer War in South Africa, which is where he first met Mahatma Gandhi.
The AICC session in then Calcutta under the leadership of Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906 inspired Venkayya to design a flag for the Indian National Congress. He strongly opposed hoisting the British flag at Congress meetings.
Venkayya worked hard on designing the flag and published a book, ‘Bharatha Deshaniki Oka Jatiya Patakam’ (National flag for India), in 1916. He also published 30 draft designs of flags, explaining their significance and relation with Indian culture and heritage.
The Congress meeting at Victoria hall in erstwhile Bezwada (Vijayawada) on March 31, 1921, became the venue for the acceptance of draft design of the Congress flag, a precursor to the Tricolour.
Gandhi asked Venkayya to submit a design at the Bezwada AICC session, which he did within three hours. Gandhi introduced the flag and Venkayya to lakhs of people who attended the public meet at Swaraj Maidan (Andhra Gymkhana Grounds in Vijayawada) on April 1, 1921. But for all the honour bestowed on him, he led a life in penury after Independence and died in abject poverty.
His son Chalapathi Rao, died after Venkayya faced difficulty in getting treatment for him. Even the hut in Chittinagar that he lived in stood on a plot received as a token of appreciation for his service in the army. Venkayya did not have a single rupee with him at the time of his death.