The decision on Wednesday 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.

"We withdrew the strike out of respect for the apex court, but will in no way end our battle to protect the rights of thousands of students," said Supriyo Basu, 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.

"After three unsuccessful attempts, I could get a doctor to see my three-year-old daughter today," Sampad Sarkar, a Kolkata stonemason said. His daughter was suffering from asthma.

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.