Father Thomas Kocherry was a social activist, priest, and lawyer who helped found the Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation. He was known as a critic of globalisation in India. Kocherry also wrote a popular blog in the Indo-Australian web site Szubha. In 1999, he was the recipient of the Sophie Prize, a Norwegian award for environment and development. Kocherry died on 3 May 2014