India deployed paramilitary forces and imposed a curfew in the western state of Gujarat on Wednesday after violence broke out at a protest led by a powerful clan demanding more government jobs and college admissions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for calm in the state he ran for more than a decade before leading his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to victory in last year's general election.

"I appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain peace. Violence will never achieve anything," Modi said in a statement broadcast on television.