Indian doctors resume work after quota strike

Thousands of Indian doctors and interns are back to work at state hospitals, ending a nearly three-week strike against the government's move to reserve more college seats for lower castes. The decision to call off the strike came hours after the Supreme Court ordered the mainly upper-caste doctors to resume their duties as patients were suffering across the nation. Though the strike is over, the battle to protect the rights of thousands of students isn't, according to a doctor in Kolkata. Patients stood in long queues in state hospitals in Kolkata and the capital New Delhi to see doctors, some of whom wore black badges to protest the quota move. The strike began last month after the government announced it would more than double the seats reserved for lower castes in state-funded colleges and universities to nearly 50 percent of all places available. Anti-quota protesters say the move will make it harder for upper-caste students competing on merit to enter federally funded medical, management and engineering colleges and universities. The admission criteria for lower-caste students are less stringent than for those competing on merit. The government says lower castes have traditionally had less access to quality education and need a helping hand from the state to get into India's top institutes. Though caste discrimination is outlawed in India, the ancient Hindu social system still impacts the lives of millions of people and causes tension and violence in rural areas.