Langar: A Model for Equitable Food Systems

Inside a Sikh gurdwara’s Langar hall, people sit cross-legged on the floor in rows, sharing a communal meal. A volunteer in a black turban and clothes serves fresh rotis from a large bowl, emphasizing equality and community service.

The Sikh institution of Langar, the free community kitchen, offers a powerful model for food justice. It combines universal access to nutritious meals with dignity, equality, and volunteer-led governance, creating a system that is both practical and deeply values-driven. What…

Community Leadership: Beyond Gurdwara Politics

Sikh volunteers wearing turbans and masks distribute aid boxes to local residents in a street lined with damaged brick buildings, showing community service and humanitarian relief in action.

When conversations about Sikh leadership come up today, they often circle back to gurdwara committees—elections, disputes, and questions of control. Gurdwaras are, without doubt, the heart of Sikh spiritual and social life. But reducing leadership to committee politics alone risks…