India, Nov. 22 -- For 18 months now, Nongthombam Biren Singh, 63, has continued to govern a state in the grips of an internecine ethnic conflict, surviving demands for his ouster as chief minister, from the Opposition, and also from members of his own party. In an interview in Imphal days after the latest spike in violence in the state, in which militants killed six women and children, he struck a defiant note, and said he was being targeted because he stopped the drug trade. Edited excerpts

Your critics have demanded President's rule as the first step to restore normalcy in the state?

The current government in Manipur has the mandate of the people. The government is working towards restoring peace but vested interests, including opposi...