Machilipatnam Medical College renamed after Indian flag designer Pingali Venkaiah

M.T. Krishna Babu, Special Chief Secretary for Health, Medical & Family Welfare, issued a Government Order (GO) based on a proposal from the Director of Medical Education.

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday renamed the Government Medical College, Machilipatnam, as Sri Pingali Venkaiah Government Medical College as a tribute to the designer of the Indian flag.

Special Chief Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, M.T. Krishna Babu issued a Government Order (GO) to this effect on the proposal by the Director of Medical Education.

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“Taking into consideration, the yeoman services done by Sri Pingali Venkaiah to the state/nation and to honour his legacy and fulfilling the long-cherished dream of the people of Machilipatnam, the government, after careful examination of the matter, hereby rename the Government Medical, Machilipatnam as Sri Pingali Venkaiah Government Medical College, Machilipatnam in a befitting tribute to Sri Pingali Venkaiah, freedom fighter and architect of the Indian flag,” reads the GO.

In an order issued on August 29, the government had decided to change the name of 10 medical colleges into generic names. These government medical colleges include the Government Medical College, Machilipatnam.

Venkaiah, a farmer, geologist, and lecturer at the Andhra National College in Machilipatnam, was born on August 2, 1876, at Bhatlapenumarru, near Machilipatnam. Designing a national flag for India was his ambition. In 1916, he published a booklet titled `A National Flag for India`, offering 30-odd designs of what could develop into the Indian flag.

Venkaiah met Mahatma Gandhi during an extraordinary session of the All India Congress Committee held in Vijayawada in 1921 and presented his version of the national flag. He was popularly known as ‘Japan Venkaiah’ for his fluency in Japanese. He was also known as Patti Venkaiah because of his research into Cambodia Cotton.

Venkaiah passed away in 1963 in oblivion with his contributions forgotten. It was only in 2009 that a postage stamp was released in his honour. Vijayawada station of the All India Radio was named after him in 2014. His name was also proposed for the Bharat Ratna in 2021 by then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.