evidence: Since the Modi administration first took office, BJP leaders have repeatedly made Hindu nationalist and anti-Muslim remarks in their speeches and interviews. These have, at times, encouraged and even incited violent attacks by party supporters who believe they have political protection and approval. They have beaten Muslim men for dating Hindu women. Mobs affiliated to the BJP have, since 2015, killed and injured scores of members of religious minorities amid rumors that they traded or killed cows for beef. In February 2019, BJP supporters threatened and beat several Kashmiri Muslim students and traders, apparently to avenge a militant attack on a security forces convoy. [...] The BJP government and its supporters have targeted protesters for arbitrary arrest and violence in states governed by the BJP. At least 30 people have been killed during protests, all in three BJP-governed states: 23 in Uttar Pradesh, 5 in Assam, and 2 in Karnataka. The vast majority of those killed and injured have been Muslims. Several police officers have been injured.[157]