Adrian Cola Rienzi
Adrian Cola Rienzi ORTT (born Krishna Deonarine on 19 January 1905, died Desh Bandu on July 21, 1972) was a Trinidadian trade unionist, civil rights activist, politician and lawyer.
Early life and education
Krishna Deonarine was born in Palmyra,
After leaving school, Deonarine took a job as a law clerk with the law firm of J.C. Hobson, a prominent lawyer, on Harris Promenade, in San Fernando. Hobson encouraged Deonarine to learn and lent him books from which he learned about Cola di Rienzo, fourteenth century Italian activist and patriot. Adrian Clarke, an English magistrate, also mentored Deonarine.[2] Influenced by Hobson and Clarke, Deonarine decided to become a lawyer. This meant going to England to study; to avoid problems that his obviously Indian name might cause, Deonarine changed his name to Adrian Cola Rienzi in 1927. He chose the name Adrian after Adrian Clarke, and Cola Rienzi after Cola di Rienzo.[1]
Rienzi studied at Trinity College in Dublin, where he joined the Irish section of the League Against Imperialism. He tried to go to India to work against imperialism, but was denied a visa to travel there. Unable to travel to India, Rienzo moved to London in 1931 where he entered the Middle Temple. In London, Rienzi became close with Shapurji Saklatvala, an Indian-born socialist and trade unionist who had served as a member of the British Parliament. Rienzi worked with Saklatava as part of the Indian Freedom League and the Indian Independence League, and maintained close ties with the Irish Republican Congress and the US-based Universal Negro Improvement Association.[1]
In 1934, Rienzi was called to the Bar and returned to Trinidad. His application for admission to the local Bar was rejected because he was considered a "communist agitator", and it was only thanks to the intervention of British Labour politician Stafford Cripps that Rienzi was able to gain admission to the Bar.[1]
After 1943, Cola Rienzi renamed to Desh Bandhu (National Patriot).[2]
Career
Trade union leader
He founded both the
Borough Council and Legislative Council
Rienzi also served four terms on the
Advocate for Indo-Trinidadians
In addition to working for workers rights, Rienzi also worked for the rights of
Honours
The Rienzi-Kirton Highway in San Fernando is named partly in honour of him. The Rienzi Complex, former headquarters of the United National Congress and the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union, on the Southern Main Road in Exchange Village, Couva is named after him.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-81-321-0039-3.
- ^ a b c d e f Samaroo, Brinsley (2005). "East Indian - West Indian: The Public Career of Adrian Cola Rienzi". UWI Today. Archived from the original on 2005-05-24.
- ISBN 0-8108-3173-2.