Wild Wild East by Tanul Thakur to be released soon by Westland Books

Westland Books has announced the pre-order of Wild Wild East: Exiled Americans, Enslaved Indians and the Systemic Abuse of the H-1B Visa Programme by award-winning journalist and film critic Tanul Thakur. The pre-order will open on 2nd April 2026. The book presents a rigorous and deeply investigative account of the H-1B visa system and its far-reaching human and economic consequences.Wild Wild East traces the experiences of Kumar Pandruvada, Virgil Bierschwale and Manu Mitra, situating their stories within a broader transnational framework shaped by corporate malpractice, immigration fraud and systemic wage violations. Drawing on eight years of reporting and research, the book exposes the murky ecosystem of Fortune 500 firms, outsourcing behemoths , visa mills and regulatory institutions that sustain these practices. It highlights the human cost while questioning dominant narratives around high-skilled migration and the Indian information technology sector. It also reveals a comprehensive account of wage violations exceeding USD 121.48 million, according to the U.S. Department of Labour, over the past two decades, offering a critical perspective on the intersections of labour, policy and global economic systems.Commenting on the book, Tanul Thakur said, “The systemic abuse of the H-1B visa programme depicts disconcerting realities of Indian elites, corporate America and American institutions. Challenging conventional wisdom (both economic and cultural)—including the assertion that only racism fuels H-1B critics—it's not the kind of story that many would like to hear, but it's for this precise reason that this story must be told.”The book is now available for pre-order on Amazon.