Ambrose Fernando (1912 – 11 January 1999) was an Indian businessman and politician.

Early life

Fernando was born in

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

to a

Paravar Paravar (also known as Bharathar or Bharathakula Kshatriyar) is a predominantly Catholic Tamil maritime community, mainly living in the state of Tamil Nadu, and in Sri Lanka. Historically, they were inhabitants of the ''Neithal'' (coastal) lands ...

family. At a young age, He went to

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

to work but returned to Kanyakumari in 1937 and married Mochammal Fernando. He joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and entered politics.

Politics

He became a member of the then

Travancore Cochin The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananth ...

Legislative Assembly representing Kanyakumari from 20 March 1948 to 18 February 1952. He took an active part in the agitation to separate Kanyakumari district from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and to join it to

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

, now

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

state.

Government posts

*Chairman, Quality control appellate Panel, Fish and Fisheries Products *Vice Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority *Member of: **Bureau of I.S.I Fish and Fisheries Products Sectional Committee **Consultative Committee Fishery Survey of India **Regional Management Committee of C.M.F.R.I Tuticorin He wrote many articles on his recommendations for the welfare of the fishing community. One such article title
"Problems Facing the Fishermen of the Beche-De-Mer Industry"
was published by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.

Business

Fernando later started a dry fish export business in Tuticorin and developed an interest in

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

. He was invited by the central and state governments to join various fish industry meetings based on his suggestions to develop fisheries as well as the trade. He was a member of various government delegations which visited other countries to study the trade.

Business posts

President of: *Fish Exporters Chamber, Tuticorin *Tuticorin Catamaran Fishermen's Association *KanyaKumari Township Fisherman Development Organization *Tuticorin Citizen Council

Recognition

Fernando was honored by the government and industry jointly, being awarded the title ''Pioneer in Fisheries''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Ambrose 1912 births 1999 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Tamil Nadu Politicians from Kanyakumari district Travancore–Cochin MLAs 1949–1952