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Indian doctors call off strike

Doctors at leading Indian hospitals called off a three week old strike against a government plan to reserve more college places for lower caste students, after the Supreme Court told them to resume their duties to ease patients' suffering.

The strike has crippled services at many state run hospitals throughout India. Medical students were also involved in the campaign, which became violent in New Delhi and Mumbai, where police caned doctors.

The protest began soon after the government announced in April that it would more than double the number of places in state funded colleges allocated to people of lower castes. The demonstrators said this would make it harder for upper caste students competing on merit to get places at federally funded medical, management, and engineering colleges and universities.

The court told the protestors that it would not stand for inconvenience to the general public, but it also asked the government to explain why it wanted to introduce the controversial policy, and said doctors would be protected from any government sacking orders if they returned to work.

University admission criteria for lower-caste students are less stringent than for those competing on merit. The government says lower castes have traditionally had poorer access to quality education and need help from the state to get into India's top institutes. Though caste discrimination is outlawed in India, the ancient Hindu social system still affects the lives of millions of people and can lead to tension and violence in rural areas.

Some doctors and medical students had gone on hunger strikes. Others refused to work in hospitals and instead saw patients in makeshift camps. One protestor, reported to be a medical student, tried to set himself on fire before being taken to hospital …