Singh was born in 1932 at Rawalpindi, then in the British Indian province of the Punjab, and came to England with his parents in 1933.

After attending Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield, he studied engineering at Birmingham University.

He has advised, or been a member of, official bodies, including the Commission for Racial Equality and the Home Secretary’s Advisory Council on Race Relations.

He was invited to the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton and the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla as a representative for the Sikh faith.

Singh received a coat of arms with a baronial coronet and, notably, the Khanda as his crest.