He later attended the Ibn Rochd lycée at Blida where he met Algerian nationalists such as Mohamed Lamine Debaghine, Saad Dahlab, Abane Ramdane, Ali Boumendjel and M'hamed Yazid.

In 1942 he joined the Algerian People's Party (PPA) where he met pioneering nationalists such as Messali Hadj, Belkacem Radjef, Hocine Lahouel and many others.

A year later he was arrested and detained by local SDECE agents for campaigning against conscription of Algerians in the war against Germany[2] as part of the "unsubmissives of Blida".

[5] In a confidential letter to Richard Nolte, director of the Institute of Current World Affairs, Benkhedda is described as an "important terrorist commander" and "intellectual of Marxist formation".

Under the government of Chadli Bendjedid which claimed to be a multi-party system, also in 1989 he created 'El Oumma' with Abderahmane Kiouane and other friends from the liberation war.

The president, Liamine Zeroual, who had succeeded Chadli promulgated a law prohibiting the use of the word "Islam" by the parties under penalty of dissolution.

[2] At the same time he founded the 'Tadhamoune' with Sheikh Ahmed Sahnoune with the aim of denouncing the state because of serious human rights violations after the military coup of January 1992.

A large crowd turned out for his funeral and he was buried at Sidi Yahia cemetery next to long-time companion Saad Dahlab.