Kurukshetra University is a university established on 11 January 1957 in Kurukshetra in the Indian state of Haryana, 160 kilometres (99 mi) from the capital, Delhi. It is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. The university was the idea of the then Punjab governor, Sir Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh, a Sanskrit scholar, who wanted to set up an institute to promote Indian culture and traditions. The Department of Sanskrit was the first and the only department in the university when it was inaugurated by Bharatratna Dr.Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Indian Republic. Its campus is spread over 400 acres (1.6 km2).