An army contingent of 616 members is to march behind an army band of 32 members in a parade.

By using,  Euclid’s division algorithm
616 = 32×19+8     
Remainder ≠ 0
So, again Applying Euclid’s division algorithm
32 = 8×4+0
HCF of (616, 32) is 8.
So ,
They can march in 8 columns each.