Simbhoonath Capildeo (; 1914-1990) was a prominent lawyer and politician in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the elder brother of

Rudranath Capildeo Rudranath Capildeo (; 2 February 1920 – 12 May 1970) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician, mathematician and barrister. He was a member of the prominent Hindu Indo-Trinidadian Capildeo family. Capildeo was the leader of the Democrati ...

and uncle of Nobel laureate Sir Vidia "V. S." Naipaul and

Shiva Naipaul Shiva Naipaul (; 25 February 1945 – 13 August 1985), born Shivadhar Srinivasa Naipaul in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was an Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian, Indo-Trinidadian and British novelist and journalist. Life and work Shiva Na ...

. He was father to two sons, Surendranath and Devendranath Capildeo and a daughter, Sita Capildeo. Capildeo was one of the founding members of the Democratic Labour Party and a member of parliament from 1956 to 1966, becoming known as "the Lion of the Legislative Council". He served as the acting

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

for

Bhadase Sagan Maraj Bhadase Sagan Maraj (; 29 February 1920 – 21 October 1971) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician, Hindu leader, civil rights activist, trade unionist, businessman, wrestler, and author. He founded the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha in 1952, ...

and Rudranath Capildeo. Capildeo was also an important leader of the Hindu community in Trinidad and played in role in the foundation of the

Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), , colloquially known as the Maha Sabha, is the largest and most influential Hindu organization in Trinidad and Tobago. It operates 150 mandirs, over 50 schools, and has its own radio station, Radio Jaagrit ...

. In 1989 he was awarded the

Chaconia Gold Medal The Chaconia Medal is the second highest state decoration of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the ...

by the Trinidad and Tobago government, honoring his service to the country. His father,

Pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

Capildeo Dubey, an immigrant from the village of Mahadeva Dubey, Somra,

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...

, Uttar Pradesh, India, built Anand Bhavan (the "Lion House") on the Main Road in

Chaguanas The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing
– Afra ...

. The Lion House is arguably the most famous architectural icon representing the Indian heritage of Trinidad and Tobago.

died on a trip to India in 1926, leaving Simbhoonath in the role of family patriarch at the age of 12. His mother, Soogee Capildeo, guided him, but Simbhoonath was an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

. His nephew,

V.S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienati ...

, wrote about Simbhoonath's love for books in

The Mystic Masseur ''The Mystic Masseur'' is a 2001 Merchant Ivory film based on the novel of the same name by V. S. Naipaul. It is one of relatively few films directed by Ismail Merchant, who is better known as the producer in the Merchant Ivory partnership, ...

. In his 9-line biographical sketch in the Indian Centenary Review (1845–1945) his hobby is listed as "Reading". Capildeo studied Hindustani and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and became a local expert on

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, and he also explored the philosophers of Western Civilization. He rapidly assumed intellectual leadership of the local Hindu society and in 1928 began creating the modern formal structure of Hindu society in Trinidad and Tobago. He was also the Secretary General of the

, preceding

Satnarayan Maharaj Satnarayan Maharaj , also known as Sat Maharaj, (; April 17, 1931 – November 16, 2019) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian Hindu religious leader, educationalist, and civil rights activist in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the Secretary-General of t ...

. Simbhoonath was married to Indradai Capildeo (''née'' Ramoutar) and was the father of one daughter, Sita, born in 1936, and two sons: Devendranath, born in 1938, and Surendranath, born in 1940. Surendranath, also a lawyer, was the only child who followed his father into local politics: he served as a senator of the United National Congress (UNC) party in the early 1990s.

References

{{Authority control Capildeo, Simbhoonath Capildeo, Simbhoonath Capildeo, Simbhoonath Capildeo, Simbhoonath Capildeo, Simbhoonath Capildeo, Simbhoonath Capildeo, Simbhoo Democratic Labour Party (Trinidad and Tobago) politicians

See also

References