Vijayawada:  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy felicitated the ‘National Flag Designer’ late Pingali Venkayya’s daughter Sita Mahalaxmi (99) at her residence on Friday in Macherla in Guntur district.

CM YS Jagan on Friday went to Sita Mahalaxmi’s house at Macherla on the occasion of 75^th Anniversary of Independence, the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”. He felicitated her with shawl and a prize Rs. 75 lakhs to her. He interacted with the family members of Pingali Venkayya’s daughter Sita Mahalaxmi.

On this occasion, he urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to confer the Bharat Ratna, the highest national award, on the late Pingali Venkayya, the designer of the national flag. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of independence, the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ was held to promote patriotism among the people. Five crore Andhras want to honor Pingali Venkayya with the Bharat Ratna.

To this end, CM Jagan on Friday wrote a four-page letter to the Prime Minister. The contents of the letter are as follows. On this occasion, I would like to bring to your notice a person who has done a tremendous job in designing this national flag, Pingali Venkayya.

Pingali Venkayya was born on August 2, 1876 in the village of Bhatla Penamarru near Machilipatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh. He was fascinated by the ideas and ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and dedicated his life to the freedom struggle.

The idea of ​​having a single flag for a country to reflect the minds of the people was followed by scientific research on the flags of different countries of the world. In 1916, Pingali Venkayya published a book entitled ‘A National Flag for India’. It describes the flags of different countries and their views on the national flag of our country. More than 30 flag designs have been made, citing the reasons for its design. Those who strongly argue that having a flag for the country gives people the strength to take part in the freedom struggle.

When Mahatma Gandhi came to Vijayawada on March 31, 1921, Pingali Venkayya presented the flag designs. The national flag was adopted on July 22, 1947. In this way he became known as the designer of the national flag. But his life went by without much recognition. He died on July 4, 1963.