Langar is the Sikh communal kitchen and free-meal tradition.
The institution is associated especially with Guru Nanak and was developed within the Sikh community by later Gurus. Anyone may eat in a langar, regardless of religion, caste, gender, wealth, or social status. Meals are usually vegetarian, allowing people with different dietary practices to share the same food.
Diners commonly sit together on the floor in rows, a practice known as pangat. This arrangement makes equality visible: people who might be separated by rank or background eat side by side. Volunteers prepare ingredients, cook, serve, and wash dishes as an act of seva, or selfless service.
Langar is offered at gurdwaras around the world, not only during major festivals. It is both practical hospitality and a religious institution. The shared meal expresses the Sikh principles of equality, generosity, community responsibility, and rejection of caste-based separation.