Deuba didn’t meet Dalai Lama in Goa

South Asia Check / November 9, 2016

Reports and suggestions are doing rounds in various communications media and social networking sites that Nepali Congress president and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba during his recent visit to Goa, India met with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and another Tibetan leader Lobsang Sangay. South Asia Check has attempted to examine whether the following suggestions were true.

First suggestion: Deuba met with the Dalai Lama at the Goa function.

Second suggestion: Deuba met with Free Tibet Movement leader Lobsang Sangay at the Goa function.

First suggestion: Deuba met with the Dalai Lama at the Goa function.

Deuba had visited India to participate in the Third India Ideas Conclave organized by the India Foundation held on November 4-6 in Goa.

The brochure of the conclave.                                                                                                          Photo: India Ideas Conclave

South Asia Check found out that the Dalai Lama had addressed the Goa function, but he had made the address through a video message. He was not present at the function in person.

Dalai Lama addressing the conclave through a video message.                        Photo: India Ideas Conclave

Therefore, the reports that said Deuba met with the Dalai Lama are incorrect.

Second suggestion: Deuba met with Free Tibet Movement leader Lobsang Sangay at the Goa function.

Lobsang Sangay had attended the Goa conclave as a distinguished speaker. But South Asia Check could not confirm whether Deuba met with Sangay. But in one of the pictures in possession of South Asia Check, Deuba is seen seated next to a man identical to Sangay. (It seems that the picture was taken during the inauguration of the conclave before Deuba took the stage).

Deuba (second left, out of focus) is seated beside a man who looks like Lobsang Sangay (left, out of focus).*                   Photo:  avinashphotography‘s album shared by India Ideas Conclave facebook page

Free Tibet Movement leader Lobsang Sangay addressing the 2015 conclave.**                           Photo: India Ideas Conclave

So on the basis of the information available to us, it cannot be said whether Deuba met with Sangay or not.

*Weblink of the photo has been added. South Asia Check downloaded the photo from the website on Nov 9, 2016. On Nov 11 we found that the website had already removed the album concerned.

**Caption corrected for clarity.

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