Pingali Venkayya, a fervent freedom fighter and the man who designed the Indian national flag, was born on 2 August, 1876.

Pingali Venkayya, a fervent freedom fighter and the man who designed the Indian national flag, was born on 2 August, 1876. Venkayya joined the British Indian Army at the age of 19 and took part in the Anglo-Boer war in Africa. It was during the war that Venkayya met Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and formed an association which would last for more than 50 years.

Conception of the tricolour



On 31 March, 1921 at the Kakinada conference of the Indian National Congress, Venkayya conceived the idea of a national flag.

MK Gandhi added the white stripe to Venkayya's saffron and green flag while Arya Samaj movement founder Lala Hansraj contributed the Dharm Chakra ( wheel of law).

The present tricolour was adopted just days before India's independence, on 22 July, 1947 at a meeting of the Constituent Assembly.

Venkayya died on 4 July, 1963 in Vijayawada.

On Tuesday, Twitterati showered the Gandhian with their tributes.

Freedom fighter and designer of the Indian national flag #PingaliVenkayya was born #OnThisDay in 1876. pic.twitter.com/8TLE3LhyeJ — Prasar Bharati (@prasarbharati) August 1, 2016

Remembering Indian freedom fighter and designer of Indian flag, Shri Pingali Venkayya on his birth anniversary. pic.twitter.com/uM4lQ5TeGY — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 2, 2016

Salutations to Indian freedom fighter & designer of Indian National Flag #PingaliVenkayya on his birth anniversary. pic.twitter.com/lsRUMCuERd — Tarun Gogoi (@tarun_gogoi) August 2, 2016

Remembering #PingaliVenkayya , designer of the Indian Flag & a great patriot on his birth anniversary. — Dr. Mahesh Sharma (@dr_maheshsharma) August 2, 2016

Tribute to the designer of tricolor the symbol of our pride, revered Shri Pingali Venkayya on his birth anniversary. pic.twitter.com/RBzPfRs1KP — ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) August 2, 2016