South Dagon is one of the several satellite towns founded by the military government in the late 80s, most of which suffer from shortages of public services and housing, despite being heralded as "new cities". The sprawling township is home to the National University of Arts and Culture, where some of the country's most accomplished artists have been trained, as well as the inconspicuous tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, who was banished by British colonial authorities to Burma following a rebellion in 1857. The site has been on the itinerary by nearly every high-level Indian delegation since the site was discovered in 1991.