The reputation of international NGOs was put under the spotlight in 2001, in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Gujarat State, Western India. The earthquake claimed approximately 20,000 lives and injured 1.6 million people (Rawat 2002: 58). There was a rush by international NGOs to be on the scene with support, but a number of reports were critical of NGOs for ‘[pursuing] their own interests’ (Disasters Emergency Committee 2001a: 11). The use of imagery during fundraising in the UK came under particular scrutiny. With regards to transparency and being accountable to beneficiaries and people who donated, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) evaluation ‘detected a tendency amongst some aid agency staff in the UK to regard public sympathy as a commodity to be exploited rather than a perception to be developed’ (Disasters Emergency Committee 2001a: 13). This leaves a question mark over the tone used in prior and subsequent emergency appeals, particularly in how the dignity of those affected by natural disasters is portrayed. The evaluation went on to state that ‘the image of an old man with hands raised in supplication used in the original appeal and the “Thank-you” parade in the Nick Ross follow-up film were not examples of best practice’ (Disasters Emergency Committee 2001a: 14). The core issue was the use of some images that did not portray communities as ‘dignified’, but instead as victims and dependent on Western aid entirely. However, HelpAge India’s booklet was singled out as an example of how the communities affected were portrayed in a dignified manner, showing ‘a pair of happy-looking (and only moderately old) musicians on its front cover, and (has) as its main (and spectacular) illustration a very dignified shoemaker with the caption in very small letters – “providing livelihoods”’ (Disasters Emergency Committee 2001b: 44). The broader issues here were about how international NGOs did not display sensitivity when choosing images, which later damaged their reputation. As Dogra (2007) states, ‘there is still a choice which is deliberately exercised by the NGO when it selects one image over another and uses it publicly’ (2007: 170).