Josh was born on 12 November 1898 at village Chetanpura in Amritsar district, Punjab Province, British India.

[2] Following his short tenure at Khalsa College, Josh went to Hubli in Bengal Presidency and later to Bombay where he worked up to 1918 in the Censor's office.

In 1925 he helped to bring out a revolutionary paper, Kirti, which was main vehicle for Bhagat Singh to propagate his ideas.

[3] Josh was a leader both of the Kirti Kisan Party and the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, being one of several people who were prominent in both organizations simultaneously.

He was imprisoned for his role in the Meerut Conspiracy Case, was released in November 1933 and thereafter aligned himself with the Communist Party of India.