The formation of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram happened over concerns regarding the increasing activities of Christian missionaries in tribal areas. There was a fear that as the Muslim League started to demand a separate nation for Muslims, the Christian missionaries could instigate converted tribals to demand a separate nation-state for Christians. Indeed, the issue of conversion was prominent in many tribal areas, including Madhya Pradesh (then Central Provinces), even before Independence, with some princely states initiating enactments to ban conversion. These included the Raigarh state Conversion Act, 1936, the Surguja state Hindu Apostasy Act, 1945, and the Udaipur state Conversion Act, 1946. What is interesting is that all these bills were introduced or passed primarily to ban the conversion of tribes to Christianity.

During the national movement, proselytisation by Christian missionaries emerged as one of the key contested issues and a matter of concern. Even Mahatma Gandhi expressed his concern regarding conversion by Christian missionaries. In Bihar Notes (10 August 1925), he underlined that,

Christian missionaries have been doing valuable service for generations, but in my humble opinion, their work suffers because at the end of it they expect the conversion of these simple people to Christianity … How very nice it would be...

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