Singh was born in a village called Jitholi in the district of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
Most of his childhood and adulthood were spent in this rural environment, an element which according to him left a lasting impression on his understanding of the nature of Indian legal systems.
The result was not only a fruition of learned academics, but also lifelong association with leading German scholars.
Most important of these was Dietrich Conrad, one of the leading scholars of constitutional law from post-World War II Germany.
NUJS Law Review, which is a quarterly publication of that university, was conceptualised by him and has undertaken the responsibility of conducting and publishing its own research.
The book dwells on the aspects of societal inequality in India, a theme which has remained central to Singh's study of Indian Constitution and law.
Unarguably, Singh's most important contribution has been by way of analysing and understanding persistent inequalities in Indian society.
His work on reservation for backward classes and minorities has led to him to conclude that the fundamental rights mentioned in the Constitution should be interpreted in an Indian context, which means that a betterment of the society has to be brought about in terms of understanding and improving the Indian ways of life, rather than attempting their surgical replacement.
He joined the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences as its Vice-Chancellor in December 2006 till 2011.
He has also served as External Advisor, Centre for Minority Studies, Kansai University, Japan.
Towards the same end, he has also been heading a group of academicians, called the Legal Education and Research Society or 'LEARS' as it is popularly referred to.