[1][2] Singh was born on 28 June 1901 in Susang-Durgapur, Mymensingh district, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Durgapur Upazila, Netrokona, Bangladesh).
After being released he moved back to Susang-Durgapur where he led peasants in protests against Tanka, a sharecropping in which the majority of the produced goods went to the landowner.
[3][5] Prior to the partition of India in August 1947, Singh was a successful workers' leader who led movements to abolish exploitative labour practices.
[3][6] Singh fought in the Bangladesh Liberation war and was a member of the advisory council of the Mujibnagar government.
He was elected President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh in 1980 and retained that post till his death.
His autobiography, Jiban Sangram (1983), was first published in Bengali before it was translated into English with the title Life is a Struggle (1988).