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Centenarian Seetha Mahalakshmi, daughter national flag designer, passes away
Seetha Mahalakshmi’s mortal remains were cremated on Friday afternoon with full state honours. Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, Palnadu collector Siva Sankar Lotheti and senior officials attended the cremation.
Hyderabad
Veteran freedom fighter Ghantasala Seetha Mahalakshmi, daughter of Pingali Venkayya who designed the national flag of India, passed away after a brief illness in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district on Thursday night.
Seetha Mahalakshmi turned 100 years in December 2021 and had been staying at the residence of her son G V Narasimha Rao at Priyadarshi Colony in Macherla town.
“She was feeling unwell for the last few days. On Thursday afternoon, she told me that she was going to die in a few hours. By 8 pm, she breathed her last quietly on her bed,” Rao said.
Her mortal remains were cremated on Friday afternoon with full state honours. Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, Palnadu collector Siva Sankar Lotheti and senior officials attended the cremation.
According to Rao, Seetha Mahalakshmi was to be taken to Delhi on August 2 for felicitation by the Centre on the occasion of Azad Ki Amrut Mahotsav. “We were making arrangements for her visit to Delhi, but this tragedy happened unexpectedly,” he said.
On March 12, 2021, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy felicitated Seetha Mahalakshmi on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of designing of the tricolour by her father Pingali Venkayya, which was later approved as the Indian National Flag.
On the occasion, Jagan presented a shawl and cash award of ₹75 lakh to her and spent about half an hour with her, before paying floral tributes to Venkayya.
Expressing grief over the death of Seetha Mahalakshmi, the chief minister said it was a matter of a great pride for Andhra Pradesh that her father had designed the national flag in April 2021. He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members and recalled the contribution of the family to the freedom movement.
Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan also expressed profound grief and sadness over the demise of Seetha Mahalakshmi. He offered his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members.
